An alert when the aurora can reach your own sky, the hours it is dark enough, and a camera that stacks a sharp shot.
AuroraCue: Aurora ForecastAn alert when the aurora can reach your own sky, the hours it is dark enough, and a camera that stacks a sharp shot.
Northern lights tonight in Fairbanks, AK
Tonight the forecast peak is Kp 3.0, and Fairbanks needs about Kp 0.6: good chance, low in the north.
Over the next 24 hours, NOAA's forecast peaks at Kp 3.0 (the 3 hours from Wed 9 PM, Fairbanks time).
The next three nights
| Night (9 pm to 3 am) | Peak Kp | Fairbanks |
|---|---|---|
| Wed, Nov 4 | 3.0 | Good chance, low in the north |
| Thu, Nov 5 | 2.3 | Good chance, low in the north |
| Fri, Nov 6 | n/a | No forecast yet |
What Fairbanks needs
Fairbanks sits at a magnetic latitude of 65.2 degrees, so the aurora can reach its northern horizon at about Kp 0.6. Each step above that brings it higher in the sky. Kp is NOAA's 0-9 index of geomagnetic activity; the higher it goes, the farther south the aurora can be seen.
How to see it from Fairbanks
- Drive out past the edge of Fairbanks's lights and face north, with a clear view of the horizon.
- The best hours are usually 10 pm to 2 am, and clouds hide everything, so check the sky too.
- A phone camera on a long exposure often shows color the eye misses.
Forecast: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center 3-day Kp forecast, refreshed every few hours. The Kp needed comes from the city's AACGM-v2 magnetic latitude; the visibility rule is approximate.
Northern lights forecast for all of Alaska