People travel far just to witness the ethereal phenomenon of aurora borealis, otherwise known as the northern lights. Luckily, New Englanders don't need to head so far to view the celestial colors, since a prime spot to see the aurora borealis is right in the northern region of Maine. The reason the aurora borealis is visible from Maine has to do with geomagnetic activity (measured by the Planetary K index, or Kp). It's estimated that the northern lights are visible near the U.S./Canada border about 25 nights each year, though activity fluctuates quite a bit. You can track the aurora view line with NOAA's aurora forecast.