Aurora Borealis in Eden Prairie
United States · 44.85°, -93.47° · geomagnetic 53.5° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Eden Prairie
1%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Eden Prairie needs Kp 7 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 4.7. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Eden Prairie
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 1%. Not one of the seven reaches the Kp 7 that Eden Prairie needs, which is normal rather than unlucky — it averages 3.2 viable nights a year. 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
See all 30 nights for Eden Prairie
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Eden Prairie
3.2 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
Wait for an alert; do not book a week
At Kp 7, Eden Prairie needs a severe geomagnetic storm before anything shows above the northern horizon. Storms that size arrive a handful of times per solar cycle and announce themselves a day or two ahead. Watching for one beats picking dates and hoping.
Hours of true darkness, month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.4 | 10.3 | 8.9 | 7.0 | 4.9 | 3.4 | 4.1 | 6.2 | 8.2 | 9.9 | 11.1 | 11.7 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Getting clear of the light
The sky over Eden Prairie reads Bortle 9. Getting clear of the built-up area makes a visible difference on a marginal night.
- 63 km west — around Glencoe Township → Bortle 5
- 102 km west — around Hector Township → Bortle 4
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, May, September and August came out ahead in Eden Prairie. 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 Eden Prairie viewing season.
- 13 Aug 2026
- 11 Sep 2026
- 11 Oct 2026
- 09 Nov 2026
- 09 Dec 2026
- 07 Jan 2027
- 06 Feb 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 Yellowknife, 2,370 km north-north-west in Canada.
| Eden Prairie | Yellowknife | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 3.2 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 53.5° | 68.6° |
Confirmed reports from this area
164 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Eden Prairie 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 Eden Prairie
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 Eden Prairie.
- Duck Lake — lake3.1 km north-north-west
- Prairie View School Park — park3.2 km north-west
- Lake Idlewild — lake3.3 km east-north-east
- Forest Hills School Park — park3.6 km north-north-east
- Solbergs Point — cape9.2 km north-west
- Carson Bay — bay9.3 km north-north-west
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 Eden Prairie you will find KJJO-AM (Saint Louis Park), KDXL-FM (Saint Louis Park) and WWTC-AM (Minneapolis), and for a day when the cloud sits low, Planes of Fame East Air Museum 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 Eden Prairie will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Homestead Msp-Eden Prairie 3.1 km from the centre
- Springhill Suites By Marriott Minneapolis Eden Prairie 3.7 km from the centre
- Esa Minneapolis-Eden Prairie 3.7 km from the centre
- Towneplace Suites Minneapolis Eden Prairie 3.7 km from the centre
- Best Western Eden Prairie Inn 3.8 km from the centre
- Residence Inn by Marriott Minneapolis Eden Prairie 4.0 km from the centre
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 Eden Prairie and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-20 | Kp 7.0 |
| 2026-01-20 | Kp 7.67 |
| 2026-01-19 | Kp 8.67 |
| 2025-11-12 | Kp 7.33 |
| 2025-11-11 | Kp 8.67 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Eden Prairie forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Eden Prairie
Can you see the aurora borealis from Eden Prairie?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Eden Prairie had about 3.2 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 Eden Prairie?
Kp 7. Eden Prairie sits at geomagnetic latitude 53.5°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 7. Storms that size occur about 3.2 nights a year.
When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Eden Prairie?
May, September and August. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Eden Prairie?
The centre of Eden Prairie reads Bortle 9. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 102 km west around Hector Township. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Eden Prairie with reliable aurora borealis?
Yellowknife, Canada — 2,370 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 3.2 in Eden Prairie.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Eden Prairie.