Texas, United StatesMagnetic latitude 40.6°Population 5,682119 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Marlin?
From Marlin the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 7.3 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the north. Strong enough for photos on 53 nights since 1995 — most recently on 20 January 2026.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:46.
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 2.7.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 1.7 expected, 7.3 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (14% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:46 to 06:39.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Sat 17 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 2 No · Kp 2
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 No · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 No · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 No · Kp 4
- Fri 23 3 No · Kp 3
- Sat 24 2 No · Kp 2
- Sun 25 2 No · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 No · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 No · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 No · Kp 5
- Sun 1 3 No · Kp 3
- Mon 2 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 No · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 No · Kp 3
Saturday 17 October — No · Kp 1.7 · Forecast cloud: 14%. · Reliability: medium
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 12:51 local time
Unlikely
Best around 19:00. Forecast max Kp 1.7 (this place needs 9+), average cloud 14%.
- Dark enough
- 19:46 – 06:39
- Sunset
- 18:53 · sunrise 07:32
- Moon
- 41% · ↑ 13:58 · ↓ 00:01
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 9+
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 7.3 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (6°)
Cloud layers and weather
Low cloud blocks the aurora completely. Thin high cloud often still lets a bright aurora shine through, so a sky with only high cloud is worth a look.
| Time | Sat, 20 | Sat, 23 | Sun, 02 | Sun, 05 | Sun, 20 | Sun, 23 | Mon, 02 | Mon, 05 | Mon, 20 | Mon, 23 | Tue, 02 | Tue, 05 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 52% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 98% | 95% | 2% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 16 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 17 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 19 °C | 16 °C | 15 °C | 15 °C |
| Feels like | 16 °C | 14 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 17 °C | 14 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 19 °C | 16 °C | 15 °C | 15 °C |
| Wind | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s |
Cloud layers and weather: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Marlin
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 | Below the horizon | -9° | -6° | 2,435 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -7° | -5° | 2,213 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -6° | -3° | 1,990 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -5° | -2° | 1,768 km |
| 6 | Below the horizon | -3° | 0° | 1,546 km |
| 7 | Below the horizon | -1° | 2° | 1,323 km |
| 8 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 0° | 5° | 1,101 km |
| 9 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 3° | 9° | 878 km |
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 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) camera in Marlin 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
Suburban sky. Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
Terrain is not modelled for this place.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Marlin
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 9+ or more is too rare here for monthly odds to be meaningful. The table still shows how often nights are clear and dark.
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 0% | 82% | 9.8 h | 21° / 34°C |
| October | 0% | 83% | 10.6 h | 15° / 29°C |
| November | 0% | 76% | 11.5 h | 9° / 22°C |
| December | 0% | 63% | 11.9 h | 5° / 17°C |
| January | 0% | 68% | 11.8 h | 3° / 16°C |
| February | 0% | 57% | 11.0 h | 5° / 18°C |
| March | 0% | 61% | 10.3 h | 10° / 23°C |
| April | 0% | 66% | 9.0 h | 14° / 26°C |
Nights when Marlin could catch it in photos
Since 1995, nights with Kp 7.3 or more while it was dark here — a red or green glow low on the horizon.
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.3
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 12 November 2025 · Kp 7.3
- 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
- 31 May 2025 · Kp 7.7
- 10 October 2024 · Kp 8.3
- 16 September 2024 · Kp 7.3
- 10 May 2024 · Kp 9.0
- 23 April 2023 · Kp 8.0
- 23 March 2023 · Kp 8.0
- 3 November 2021 · Kp 7.7
- 25 August 2018 · Kp 7.3
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Waco Regional Airport (ACT) · 46 km
- Typical low / high in January
- 3° / 16°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. 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 Marlin?
From Marlin the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 7.3 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the north.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Marlin?
Around Marlin the aurora is often right overhead. Start by facing north, but look up and all around — in strong storms it can fill the whole sky and even appear behind you.
When is the aurora season in Marlin?
Marlin 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 Marlin?
Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Marlin share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- City of Marlin 1 km
- Sunrise 4 km
- Falls County 7 km
- Rocky Hill 7 km
- McClanahan 9 km
- Triangle 9 km
- Tomlinson Hill 10 km
- Perry 13 km
- Satin 13 km
- Cedar Springs 14 km
- Guda 14 km
- Blue Ridge 15 km
- Coymack 15 km
- Reagan 15 km
- Beacon 16 km
- Chilton 16 km
- Highbank 16 km
- Lott 17 km
- Stranger 17 km
- City of Lott 17 km
- Otto 18 km
- Long Branch 20 km
- Pleasant Grove 20 km
- Odds 21 km
- Alto Springs 22 km
- Eloise 22 km
- Wilderville 22 km
- Kosse 25 km
- Mustang 25 km
- Bremond 26 km
- City of Bremond 26 km
- Town of Kosse 26 km
- Hogg 27 km
- Hammond 29 km
- Tidwell Prairie 33 km
- Petteway 37 km