Alaska, United StatesMagnetic latitude 62.1°104 m above sea level
Northern lights in Talkeetna
From Talkeetna the aurora can show up on almost any clear, dark night — low to the north-north-east when activity is quiet, higher and overhead when it picks up. Since 1995 that level (Kp 4.7) was reached during darkness here on 684 nights.
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Right now
The aurora may be in view right now — go outside and look north-north-east!
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Maybe — worth a look
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 2 expected, 0 needed here.
- Sky Partly cloudy (74% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 20:18 to 07:14.
What to do: Go somewhere dark around 05:00, give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust and look north-north-east, low over the horizon.
- Detailed forecast Thu 15 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Fri 16 1.7 Good chance · Kp 1.7
- Sat 17 1.7 Possible · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Sun 18 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Mon 19 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Sat 24 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Sun 25 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sun 1 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Mon 2 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Tue 3 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Good chance · Kp 3
Friday 16 October — Possible · Kp 2 · best around 06:30 · Forecast cloud: 74%. · Reliability: good
Each box is one night: the colour shows the chance, the number the expected Kp. Tap a night for details.
📅 Add these nights to your calendar — it updates itself (.ics)
How far ahead can the northern lights be forecast?
- Minutes to an hour: satellites 1.5 million km away measure the solar wind before it reaches Earth. This is the surest warning — the “Right now” box uses it.
- 1–3 days: when the Sun throws out a cloud of particles, it takes one to three days to arrive. NOAA's 3-hourly forecast covers these nights; the timing can still be off by a few hours.
- 4–27 days: the Sun turns once every 27 days, and regions that disturbed Earth's field last time often do it again. NOAA's 27-day outlook gives this rough trend — new eruptions are not in it yet.
Tonight
Updated 05:45 local time
Possible
Best around 05:00. Forecast max Kp 2.0 (this place needs 0), average cloud 74%.
- Dark enough
- 20:18 – 07:14
- Sunset
- 18:41 · sunrise 08:52
- Moon
- 31% · ↑ 18:09 · ↓ 19:31
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 0
- Look towards
- north-north-east (18°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Tonight's cloud forecast is similar in every direction within 100 km (55% here), so driving is unlikely to help.
MET Norway forecast at 24 points within 100 km, averaged over the dark hours. Check roads and conditions before driving.
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Talkeetna
Facing north-north-east. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Visible to the north-north-east | 10° | 20° | 489 km |
| 2 | Visible to the north-north-east | 67° | 77° | 44 km |
| 3 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 4 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 5 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 6 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-west | – | – | – |
The Kp scale in plain words
Kp is a 0–9 score for how strongly the Earth's magnetic field is being shaken by the solar wind. The higher it goes, the further from the poles the northern lights reach. Kp 0–2 is a quiet night; Kp 5 and above is a geomagnetic storm.
- Kp 0–2 Quiet next 24 h eye in Talkeetna Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
- Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
- Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
- Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) Central Europe to the eye; red sky in photos from northern Italy, Spain, the Balkans and Turkey's Black Sea coast.
- Kp 9 Extreme storm (G5) Seen across Europe and the US; in photos as far south as the Mediterranean, Turkey and North Africa (May 2024).
Light pollution
Pristine dark sky. Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
The horizon towards the north-north-east is open (terrain below 1.3°), so low aurora is not blocked.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Talkeetna
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
March has been the best month (64% of nights), followed by April (58%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 29% | 29% | 7.4 h | 4° / 11°C |
| October | 40% | 40% | 10.6 h | -3° / 3°C |
| November | 55% | 55% | 13.3 h | -11° / -6°C |
| December | 53% | 53% | 14.5 h | -13° / -8°C |
| January | 57% | 57% | 13.8 h | -14° / -9°C |
| February | 57% | 57% | 11.5 h | -13° / -6°C |
| March | 64% | 64% | 8.8 h | -12° / -3°C |
| April | 58% | 58% | 4.5 h | -5° / 3°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 1 May to 11 August — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Next new moon 8 November, next full moon 25 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Talkeetna since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 3 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 7 September 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 18 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 1 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 24 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
Where to watch near Talkeetna
-
Talkeetna Riverfront Park
River confluence at the edge of town with an open, low horizon across the Susitna River. · about 1 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Christiansen Lake
Small lake just east of town, away from Main Street lights. · about 6 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Denali Viewpoint South (Parks Highway)
Large pull-out with a wide panorama toward Denali and the Alaska Range, far from any town. · about 82 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Talkeetna is a small town at the end of the Talkeetna Spur Road north of Anchorage, with far less light pollution than the city.
- The riverfront park at the confluence of the Talkeetna, Susitna and Chulitna rivers gives an open view across the Susitna River toward the Alaska Range.
- Late winter combines long dark nights with milder temperatures and is a popular time for aurora trips here.
- Lakes and viewpoints along the Talkeetna Spur Road offer wider skies if the town itself feels too bright.
- Vehicle headlights and LED light bars on passing trucks can spoil photos, so pick spots set back from the road.
Watch for moose on the Spur Road and Parks Highway at night.
River and lake ice can be thin near currents; stay on shore unless you know the ice conditions.
Practical information
- Typical low / high in March
- -12° / -3°C
- What to wear
- Arctic cold: wool base layers, insulated jacket and trousers, warm boots, hat and mittens. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 911
- Winter driving
- Tyre and chain rules are set at state level; check Alaska 511 (511.alaska.gov, Alaska DOT&PF) for Alaska roads, or the relevant state's 511 service elsewhere. Road conditions
- Access to land
- There is no general right to roam; trespass law is set by each state, so stay on public land (national parks, national forests, BLM land) or get the landowner's permission, and follow each park's night-time and parking rules.
- Official space-weather service
- NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center (aurora dashboard)
- Weather service
- National Weather Service (NOAA)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Talkeetna?
From Talkeetna the aurora can show up on almost any clear, dark night — low to the north-north-east when activity is quiet, higher and overhead when it picks up.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Talkeetna?
Face north-north-east (about 18° from true north). At Kp 0 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 10° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Talkeetna?
Over 2005–2025, March gave the best odds in Talkeetna (64% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by April (58%).
When is the aurora season in Talkeetna?
From 1 May to 11 August the sky in Talkeetna never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Talkeetna?
Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
When was the aurora last possible in Talkeetna?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Talkeetna on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 684 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Talkeetna share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Trapper Creek 6 km
- Fish Lake 9 km
- Chase 14 km
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough 20 km
- Curry 33 km
- Petersville 39 km