Add some arctic ambience
to your home with these
northern-esque lights
1+2+3
Arduino
Borealis
MIKE SENESE is the executive
editor of Make:.
I’ve always wanted to experience the northern
lights, but my only trip to a suitable latitude
occurred in the summer, when the sky stayed
too light to see them. Then I came across this
pseudo-effect rendition, shared with us by Reddit
users u/Eduhsoj, u/Mazen191, and u/Ringkeeper.
1. Connect the Arduino to the lights. Plug the
data wire from the LED strip into pin 5 on the
Arduino; the 5V and GND wires go to 5V and
GND pins on the Arduino. Hot-glue them if
they slip out. For reliability, add a 470Ω resistor
between pin 5 and the lights. Also, a dedicated
5V power supply with a 1,000μF capacitor will
keep you from burning out your Arduino (see
makezine.com/go/arduino-borealis).
2. Download the sketch and configure it to match
the number of LEDs in your strip. There are
various settings you can modify to alter the
light effects. Upload the sketch to the Arduino.
3. Set the lights where they aren’t directly visible,
but their glow can easily be seen. I put mine
atop my kitchen cabinets.
Power it up and the lights will come to life with
waves of purples, pinks, and greens. If you have
excess strip, loop it and watch the aurora effect
dance with itself as it moves. Beautiful!
Caleb Kraft
TIME REQUIRED:
DIFFICULTY:
COST:
MATERIALS
» Arduino Uno microcontroller or similar
» LED string lights,individually addressable,
WS2812B long enough to stretch along the area
where you want to create the aurora effect. I
used a 16.4' spool containing 160 lights.
» 5V power supply with barrel plug, or USB
cable and power dongle
» Jumper wires, male/female
» Resistor, 470
Ω
» Capacitor, 1,000μF, 5V
TOOLS
» Soldering iron (optional)
» Wire strippers (optional)
» Hot glue gun (optional)
» Computer with Arduino IDE software
» Arduino Borealis sketch github.com/Mazn1191/
Arduino-Borealis
30 Minutes
Easy
$50–$60
Written by Mike Senese
106 makercampus.com
PROJECTS: Aurora Lights / Intercom
M77_106_123aurora_F1.indd 106M77_106_123aurora_F1.indd 106 4/12/21 12:15 PM4/12/21 12:15 PM
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