Aurora Borealis in Badger

United States · 64.80°, -147.53° · geomagnetic 65.6° · needs Kp 3

Tonight in Badger

24%

Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Badger needs Kp 3 before anything clears the northern horizon, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 4.7 — comfortably over the line.

Tonight Sun 02 Aug
24%
18
20
22
00
02
04
06
Tomorrow Mon 3 Aug
16%
Hour-by-hour for this night is in the app
Tuesday Tue 4 Aug
4%
Hour-by-hour for this night is in the app

Unlock every hour in the app

Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC

The next 30 nights in Badger

Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 24%. 4 of the seven reach the Kp 3 that Badger 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.

Low activity for the next few days. Moderate aurora expected on August 19th.

Sun 2
24%
Kp 4.7
Mon 3
16%
Kp 3.3
Tue 4
4%
Kp 0.0
Wed 5
22%
Kp 3.0
Thu 6
22%
Kp 3.0
Fri 7
16%
Kp 2.0
Sat 8
17%
Kp 2.0

Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app

See all 30 nights for Badger

Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook

How often the aurora borealis reaches Badger

110.6 nights a year, averaged across 10.0 years of records

Storm levelNights / year
Kp 483.4
Kp 528.7
Kp 69.3
Kp 73.2
Kp 81.2

NOAA planetary Kp, 2016-04-02 to 2026-03-30

You are inside the auroral oval

Badger 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

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
12.310.16.80.00.00.00.00.04.99.111.813.0

Solar declination and hour angle at −18°

Nothing to see from April to August

Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Badger horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.

Getting clear of the light

Badger is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 7. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.

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, October and September came out ahead in Badger. 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 Badger viewing season.

Where it is close to a certainty

Fairbanks is close enough to reach and return in a night — 10 km west-north-west — and needs only Kp 3.

BadgerFairbanks
Kp needed33
Nights per year110.6 171.4
Geomagnetic latitude65.6° 65.6°

See the Fairbanks forecast

Confirmed reports from this area

145 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Badger 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 Badger

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 Badger.

Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)

What to do with the daylight

Aurora watching is a night job, and in winter that leaves a short, bright day to fill. Close to Badger you will find KTVF-TV (Fairbanks), KUWL-FM (Fairbanks) and KATN-TV (Fairbanks), and for a day when the cloud sits low, Fairbanks Ice Museum and Wickersham House (historical) are indoors and near by.

Keep the daylight loose: the sky decides the evening, and the forecast can turn within a few hours.

Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)

Where to stay

Anywhere on the outskirts of Badger will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.

Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — confirm before booking

The last nights it was visible here

Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Badger and the sky was dark enough to show it.

DatePeak
2026-03-30Kp 3.0
2026-03-29Kp 3.33
2026-03-28Kp 3.67
2026-03-27Kp 3.33
2026-03-26Kp 3.0

NOAA planetary Kp

Know when it is worth going outside

Revon watches the Badger forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.

Get aurora alerts on iPhone

Common questions about the aurora borealis in Badger

Can you see the aurora borealis from Badger?

Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Badger had about 110.6 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 Badger?

Kp 3. Badger sits at geomagnetic latitude 65.6°, 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 Badger?

March, October and September. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From April to August the sky over Badger never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.

Where can you escape the light pollution near Badger?

The centre of Badger reads Bortle 7. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 22 km north around Fairbanks North Star Borough. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.

Where is the nearest place to Badger with reliable aurora borealis?

Fairbanks, United States — 10 km west-north-west. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 110.6 in Badger.

Nearby towns

Forecasts for places within reach of Badger.