Alaska: Northern Lights Tonight, City by City

Alaska: it depends on where you are and on tonight's sky. Kaktovik needs about Kp 1; Adak needs about Kp 6. On top of that it takes a clear, dark sky — cloud blocks aurora at any Kp. The table at the top of this page has tonight's forecast city by city.

Alaska has no single number. The higher the Kp, the further from the pole the auroral oval reaches, so the threshold rises with distance from the pole: Kaktovik needs about Kp 1, Adak about Kp 6. Each city's page gives its own threshold.

September to April, with February, March, October, November the darkest stretch — though at this latitude the season is set by how often a storm reaches you, not by daylight.

Alaska: of the places in this list, Kaktovik needs the least — about Kp 1 — while Adak needs about Kp 6. Wherever you are, a dark sky away from city lights matters more than the exact spot.