Aurora Borealis in Fairbanks
United States · 64.84°, -147.72° · geomagnetic 65.6° · needs Kp 3
Tonight in Fairbanks
24%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Fairbanks 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 Fairbanks
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 Fairbanks 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
See all 30 nights for Fairbanks
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Fairbanks
110.6 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
Fairbanks 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.3 | 10.1 | 6.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.9 | 9.1 | 11.8 | 13.0 |
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 Fairbanks horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
The sky over Fairbanks reads Bortle 8. Getting clear of the built-up area makes a visible difference on a marginal night.
- 18 km north → Bortle 4
- 18 km north → 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, March, October and September came out ahead in Fairbanks. 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 Fairbanks 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 Whitehorse, 788 km east-south-east in Canada.
| Fairbanks | Whitehorse | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 3 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 110.6 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 65.6° | 63.8° |
Confirmed reports from this area
145 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Fairbanks 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 Fairbanks
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 Fairbanks.
- Creamers Field State Game Refuge — park3.8 km north-north-west
- Chena River State Recreation Site — park4.4 km west
- Birch Hill — mountain4.6 km north-east
- Caribou Lake — lake5.1 km north-north-west
- Star Lake — lake5.3 km north-north-west
- Troth Yeddha’ — ridge6.1 km west-north-west
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Places to watch from
Named viewpoints and reserves near Fairbanks that sit outside the worst of the light. Each puts the northern horizon over open ground instead of over rooftops.
- Observation Tower 3.7 km
- Creamer's Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge 4.0 km
- Chena River Lakes Recreation Area 25.4 km
Places from OpenStreetMap contributors
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 Fairbanks you will find KTVF-TV (Fairbanks), KATN-TV (Fairbanks) and KCBF-AM (Fairbanks), and for a day when the cloud sits low, Fairbanks Ice Museum, Bouchard's International Dog Mushing and Sled Museum and Alaska Mining Hall of Fame 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 Fairbanks will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Fairbanks Downtown Hostel 0.6 km from the centre
- 9th Ave Hostel 0.9 km from the centre
- Minnie Street Inn B&B 1.3 km from the centre
- The Villages 2.2 km from the centre
- Wedgewood Resort 2.6 km from the centre
- Billie's Backpackers Hostel 4.1 km from the centre
Places from OpenStreetMap contributors — confirm before booking
The last nights it was visible here
Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Fairbanks 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
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Fairbanks forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Fairbanks
Can you see the aurora borealis from Fairbanks?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Fairbanks 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 Fairbanks?
Kp 3. Fairbanks 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 Fairbanks?
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 Fairbanks never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Fairbanks?
The centre of Fairbanks reads Bortle 8. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 18 km north. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Fairbanks with reliable aurora borealis?
Whitehorse, Canada — 788 km east-south-east. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 110.6 in Fairbanks.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Fairbanks.
- 🇺🇸 Eagle River - United States402 km
- 🇺🇸 Anchorage - United States417 km
- 🇨🇦 Whitehorse - Canada788 km
- 🇺🇸 Juneau - United States1008 km
- 🇨🇦 Terrace - Canada1559 km
- 🇨🇦 Yellowknife - Canada1647 km
- 🇨🇦 Fort St. John - Canada1731 km
- 🇨🇦 Prince George - Canada1842 km