You Can Now Name the Next Northern Lights After Your Loved One

The idea behind the campaign was to name aurora storms the same way other storms, like hurricanes, are named. The lights will be assigned a name when the Space Weather Prediction Center receives data on solar flares, high-speed solarwind, and coronal mass ejections that qualify as a new Aurora storm.

A few names have already been assigned to northern lights storms. The submission for Aurora Ellen, for example — visible January 20-22, 2021 — read, “from the west coast of Ireland, Ellen enjoys sitting in her conservatory observing the stars. She had her 100th birthday in December.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by It’s in our nature. (@thisisarcticcom)

To submit a name of your own and give the perfect gift this Valentine’s Day, visit the Naming Auroras website, fill in your information, suggest a name, and explain why an Aurora should be named after this person. If you’re lucky, your suggestion will be picked to represent a specific Aurora storm.