Why the northern lights seem more frequent than ever — from solar science to smartphone snapshots

Three panel image showing a close up view of the sun on the left, a colorful northern lights scene in the center with pillars of purple and green lights and on the right there are images of smartphones with northern lights photos on them with social media reactions of a shocked emoji, a thumbs up and a heart scattered amongst the scene.

Why did the world suddenly become obsessed with the northern lights? It seems like not a week goes by without news of solar flares and, very often, a forecast for auroras in their wake. So are the northern lights being seen from farther south than usual? Or are people merely noticing them more?

Here's why the northern lights have become more visible and more talked about than ever over the past year.