Aurora Borealis in Alaska
United States · 62.10°, -145.83° · geomagnetic 63.4° · needs Kp 3
Tonight in Alaska
25%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Alaska needs Kp 3 before anything clears the northern horizon, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 4.7 — comfortably over the line.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Alaska
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Thursday 6 Aug at 25%. 4 of the seven reach the Kp 3 that Alaska needs, topping out at Kp 4.7. The 23 nights past the seven-day window move with the 27-day solar rotation and are updated daily in the app.
Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Alaska
118.7 nights a year, averaged across 10.0 years of records
| Storm level | Nights / year |
|---|---|
| Kp 4 | 83.4 |
| Kp 5 | 28.7 |
| Kp 6 | 9.3 |
| Kp 7 | 3.2 |
| Kp 8 | 1.2 |
NOAA planetary Kp, 2016-04-02 to 2026-03-30
You are inside the auroral oval
Alaska sits far enough northern that quiet conditions are enough. What limits you here is cloud and moonlight, not geomagnetic activity.
Hours of true darkness, month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.2 | 10.2 | 7.3 | 1.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.8 | 9.3 | 11.7 | 12.7 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Nothing to see from May to August
Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Alaska horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
With 397,755 people around you, the sky over central Alaska is Bortle 3. The glow hides anything but the brightest display, so the drive out matters more here than the forecast does.
- 11 km south-south-east — around Unorganized Borough → Bortle 3
- 11 km south-south-east — around Unorganized Borough → Bortle 3
Falchi 2016 World Atlas (DOI: 10.5880/GFZ.1.4.2016.001)
The months that actually deliver
Counting only nights that were both stormy enough and dark enough, March, September and October came out ahead in Alaska. That is storm season and darkness overlapping — the equinoxes tend to be geomagnetically active, and the nights are already long by then.
Darkest nights of the coming year
A bright moon washes out a weak display as effectively as street lighting. These new moons fall inside the Alaska viewing season.
- 11 Sep 2026
- 11 Oct 2026
- 09 Nov 2026
- 09 Dec 2026
- 07 Jan 2027
- 06 Feb 2027
- 08 Mar 2027
Where it is close to a certainty
If you would rather plan a trip than wait for a storm, the nearest place with genuinely frequent aurora is Fairbanks, 319 km north-north-west in United States.
| Alaska | Fairbanks | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 3 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 118.7 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 63.4° | 65.6° |
Confirmed reports from this area
150 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Alaska between 2015-01-01 and 2016-12-31. Rare is not the same as impossible.
Aurorasaurus verified positive reports
Where the horizon opens up near Alaska
The display sits low on the northern horizon, so what beats a better forecast is open ground facing that way. Height gets you above the town glow; water gives you an unbroken skyline. These are within a short drive of Alaska.
- Plumb Bob Lake — lake6.3 km west
- Mud Lake — lake6.6 km north-west
- Mount Carter — mountain33.7 km south
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
The last nights it was visible here
Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Alaska and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-30 | Kp 3.0 |
| 2026-03-29 | Kp 3.33 |
| 2026-03-28 | Kp 3.67 |
| 2026-03-27 | Kp 3.33 |
| 2026-03-26 | Kp 3.0 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Aurora forecasts across Alaska
All 5 places in Alaska with a forecast page, and the Kp each one needs.
- AnchorageKp 5
- BadgerKp 3
- Eagle RiverKp 5
- FairbanksKp 3
- JuneauKp 5
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Alaska forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Alaska
Can you see the aurora borealis from Alaska?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Alaska had about 118.7 nights a year when the storm was strong enough and the sky dark enough at the same time.
What Kp index do you need to see the aurora borealis in Alaska?
Kp 3. Alaska sits at geomagnetic latitude 63.4°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 3.
When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Alaska?
March, September and October. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From May to August the sky over Alaska never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Alaska?
The centre of Alaska reads Bortle 3. The nearest sky at Bortle 3 is about 11 km south-south-east around Unorganized Borough. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Alaska with reliable aurora borealis?
Fairbanks, United States — 319 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 118.7 in Alaska.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Alaska.