How to pick the best cruises to see the northern lights, eclipses, and galaxies, according to an astrophysicist

Oluseyi has been on five cruises in various parts of the world. “The most amazing one was a trip to Norway on a cruise called Chasing the Northern Lights,” he said. That’s when he saw the aurora borealis, aka the northern lights, for the first time.

“There are certain astronomical phenomena that sort of just brings the universe to your doorstep, and the northern lights, for me, was like that,” he said.

The northern lights are only visible at night. To make sure you don’t miss them, you can see if your cruise offers wake-up calls when the lights appear. Many cruises do.

Moreover, location and timing are important. The northern lights are visible most often in northern latitudes including Canada, Alaska, and northern Scandinavia.

You likely won’t see them year-round, however. The fall and spring equinoxes are the best time for viewing the northern lights, NOAA notes.

Winter can also be a good time, according to a Viking Cruises representative who told BI over email that daylight only lasts a few hours north of Scandinavia during winter time, offering more opportunities to see this spectacular light show.

Choose a destination with clear skies for stargazing.

Some parts of the world have better skies for stargazing than others.

In particular, “the Canary Islands and Chile are some of the best places to stargaze on the globe,” Paul Grigsby, Holland Cruise’s vice president of revenue planning and deployment, told Business Insider via email.

Both destinations have cultivated reputations as astrotourism sites and have areas that are dark sky reserves. Plus, Chile’s latitude puts it right under the Milky Way.

If you don’t mind chillier weather, remote destinations like the Arctic and Greenland also take passengers far from cities’ light pollution. Keep in mind, though, that the sun sets late during the Arctic summer, so nights are short.

You might also want to time your trip with a meteor shower, like the Perseids in August. The nice thing about that is that you should be able to see the celestial show from almost anywhere, Oluseyi said.

Though, if epic stargazing is your goal, you should try to avoid areas with notoriously cloudy weather. “I’m not going to cruises in Seattle or London,” Oluseyi said.

Chase a solar eclipse from the ocean.

Once it’s dark, you want it to stay dark. “Eye adjustment is a very precious thing,” Oluseyi said. It takes 30 minutes for your eyes to acclimate to the darkness, according to The BBC.

Avoid peeking at your bright phone screen because once that light hits your eyeballs, they’ll have to readjust again.

You can also use your phone’s settings to apply a red filter, which will help your eyes stay adjusted to the night sky.

You’ll want to prepare to be outside for a while.

“It can get cold at night,” Oluseyi said. His advice for stargazing from an observatory is to dress warmly and bring snacks. But it applies anywhere. You’ll want to stay comfortable and awake so you don’t miss the view.

“You’ll find yourself freezing,” he said. “You’ll find yourself sleepy, but it’s so worth it.”