Michigan, United StatesMagnetic latitude 56.6°191 m above sea level
Northern lights in Copper Harbor
From Copper Harbor the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north, from about Kp 3.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 20:08.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Only in photos, if at all
- Solar activity Enough for a camera: Kp 1.7 expected, 1.3 needed for photos, 3 for the eye.
- Sky Mostly clear (36% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 20:08 to 07:06.
What to do: Point a phone in night mode north (3–10 s exposure). A red or green glow often shows on the screen before you can see it.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 1.7 Photos only · Kp 1.7
- Sat 17 1.7 Photos only · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Sun 18 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Mon 19 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Possible · Kp 3
Wednesday 21 October — Good chance · Kp 3 · best around 01:00 · Forecast cloud: 1%. · Reliability: low (rough trend)
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 09:44 local time
Unlikely
Best around 23:00. Forecast max Kp 1.7 (this place needs 3), average cloud 36%.
- Dark enough
- 20:08 – 07:06
- Sunset
- 19:01 · sunrise 08:13
- Moon
- 31% · ↑ 14:42 · ↓ 22:21
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 3
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 1.3 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (0°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Tonight's cloud forecast is similar in every direction within 100 km (36% 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 Copper Harbor
Facing north. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 6° | 14° | 656 km |
| 3 | Visible to the north | 12° | 22° | 434 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 25° | 42° | 211 km |
| 5 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 6 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
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 camera in Copper Harbor Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled eye in Copper Harbor 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 is open (terrain below 0.0°), 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 Copper Harbor
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
March has been the best month (13% of nights), followed by October (10%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 9% | 18% | 9.1 h | 12° / 19°C |
| October | 10% | 28% | 10.9 h | 7° / 12°C |
| November | 7% | 18% | 12.1 h | 0° / 4°C |
| December | 3% | 12% | 12.9 h | -5° / -1°C |
| January | 5% | 17% | 12.5 h | -9° / -4°C |
| February | 7% | 21% | 11.4 h | -10° / -5°C |
| March | 13% | 32% | 9.9 h | -5° / 0°C |
| April | 2% | 7% | 7.8 h | 0° / 6°C |
Aurora nights in Copper Harbor 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
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 24 June 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 18 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
Where to watch near Copper Harbor
-
Keweenaw Dark Sky Park (Keweenaw Mountain Lodge)
International Dark Sky Park just south of town with open grounds for night viewing. · about 3 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Hunter's Point Park
Flat point extending into Lake Superior west of town with an open lake horizon. · about 1 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Fort Wilkins Historic State Park
State park just east of town between Copper Harbor and Lake Fanny Hooe, away from village lights. · about 2 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Brockway Mountain Drive
Ridge road climbing about 219 m above Lake Superior with sweeping views of the lake and sky. · about 11 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Copper Harbor sits at the tip of the Keweenaw Peninsula on Lake Superior, at the northern end of US 41, with very little light pollution.
- The Keweenaw Dark Sky Park at the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge is an International Dark Sky Park whose grounds are open from 7 pm to 7 am.
- Lake Superior gives a dark, open northern horizon from many points around town.
- Plan around the new moon for the darkest skies and watch aurora forecasts for geomagnetic storms.
- The Keweenaw Dark Sky Park website posts aurora updates and maps of viewing areas on the peninsula.
Brockway Mountain Drive is not plowed and is closed to vehicles in winter, when it becomes a snowmobile trail.
The Keweenaw Dark Sky Park is closed all of April and from November 15 to December 14; overnight camping is not allowed and visitors must stay off golf greens and tees.
Practical information
- Typical low / high in March
- -5° / 0°C
- What to wear
- Below freezing at night: thermal layers, a warm jacket, hat, gloves and winter boots. 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 Copper Harbor?
From Copper Harbor the aurora is visible on most active nights — first low to the north, from about Kp 3.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Copper Harbor?
Face north (about 0° from true north). At Kp 3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 12° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Copper Harbor?
Over 2005–2025, March gave the best odds in Copper Harbor (13% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by October (10%).
When is the aurora season in Copper Harbor?
Copper Harbor gets dark enough for the aurora all year round, though the long winter nights give the most hours to watch.
Is there much light pollution in Copper Harbor?
Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
When was the aurora last possible in Copper Harbor?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Copper Harbor on 4 October 2026 (Kp 5.0) — 939 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Copper Harbor share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Township of Grant 8 km
- Bete Grise 10 km
- Mandan 11 km
- Lac La Belle 13 km
- Delaware 16 km
- Wyoming 16 km
- Eagle Harbor 21 km
- Nepco Camp Number 7 21 km
- Betsy 23 km
- Central 24 km
- Copper Falls 24 km
- Eagle Nest 30 km
- Eagle River 31 km
- Phoenix 31 km