Alaska, United States
Northern lights in Anchorage
Answer
Tonight
Darkness window open
Civil darkness has begun.
Observed 10:53 UTC, forecast 12:26 UTC, 93 min lead
Clock times in America/Anchorage
Valid 09:00 to 12:00 UTC
Storm level needed
Anchorage sits at 61.22N 149.90W in Alaska, United States. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Anchorage at 61.9 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 0.7 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Anchorage sits at 61.9 degrees geomagnetic, inside SWPC's 60 to 75 degree band, where aurora can be seen on more than half of all nights. No storm is needed: by SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 3.
"The best place to observe the aurora is under an oval shaped region between the north and south latitudes of about 60 and 75 degrees. At these polar latitudes, the aurora can be observed more than half of the nights of a given year."
The nearest other Glow towns are Eagle River (21 km), Fairbanks (417 km), Whitehorse (801 km). Eagle River sits 0.2 degrees higher on the dipole, Kp 2 against 3 here.
Approximate: SWPC calls its Kp to latitude rule an average, and a centered dipole can differ by a degree from fuller field models. How the storm level is matched
The year in darkness
From June 2 to July 8 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 37 nights in 2026 have no civil darkness at all. SWPC puts it plainly: "It must also be dark so during the summer months at auroral latitudes, the midnight sun prevents auroral observations." Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from July 28 to May 13 across New Year, 290 days in 2026. Anchorage's longest night of the year, Dec 18, has 16 h 18 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Anchorage, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:55 on local clocks on December 15 and 02:00 on June 15. That is 55 min after midnight in December and 2 h after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Anchorage the darkest hour sits late in SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15.5 h | 11.9 h | 65% | 5.4 hbest | |
| Feb | 13.2 h | 9.8 h | 69% | 4.1 h | |
| Mar | 10.6 h | 7.0 h | 63% | 3.9 h | |
| Apr | 7.4 h | 0.6 h | 72% | 2.1 h | |
| May | 3.8 h | 0.0 h | 79% | 0.8 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 81% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 2.1 h | 0.0 h | 83% | 0.4 h | |
| Aug | 6.3 h | 0.0 h | 79% | 1.3 h | |
| Sep | 9.5 h | 5.6 h | 78% | 2.1 h | |
| Oct | 12.4 h | 9.0 h | 77% | 2.9 h | |
| Nov | 14.9 h | 11.4 h | 70% | 4.5 h | |
| Dec | 16.3 h | 12.5 h | 72% | 4.6 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Anchorage with 16.3 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Anchorage gets 3,385 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Anchorage, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.5 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Anchorage at 74% across the year, from 63% in March to 83% in July. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Anchorage averages 72%, against a median of 61% for Glow towns in United States.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives January the best score, 5.4 hours, ahead of December at 4.6. Anchorage's equinox months score 3.9 in March and 2.1 in September, the weeks SWPC links with larger storms.
Kp history
From 1996 to 2025, the GFZ Potsdam record shows a 3-hour Kp of 3 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Anchorage, on 50% of days. At Anchorage's level the share runs from 43% in June to 58% in March, while storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%.
Share of UTC days in each calendar month whose highest 3-hour Kp reached Kp 3. Kp history by year
Moon, next 30 nights
Over the 30 nights from Oct 1, the new moon falls on Oct 10 and the full moon on Oct 25, in America/Anchorage dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Anchorage have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 5 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Anchorage has 11 h 5 min of civil night, 0 min of it with the moon down.
- 1
64% lit
0.0 h
- 2
53% lit
0.8 h
- 3
41% lit
2.7 h
- 4
30% lit
4.7 h
- 5
21% lit
6.5 h
- 6
12% lit
8.3 h
- 7
6% lit
10.0 h
- 8
2% lit
11.6 h
- 9
0% lit
11.8 h
- 10
1% lit
11.9 h
- 11
3% lit
12.0 h
- 12
7% lit
12.1 h
- 13
13% lit
12.2 h
- 14
21% lit
12.3 h
- 15
29% lit
12.4 h
- 16
38% lit
12.0 h
- 17
47% lit
10.3 h
- 18
56% lit
8.7 h
- 19
66% lit
7.2 h
- 20
75% lit
5.7 h
- 21
83% lit
4.2 h
- 22
90% lit
2.6 h
- 23
96% lit
1.1 h
- 24
99% lit
0.0 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
98% lit
0.0 h
- 27
93% lit
0.0 h
- 28
86% lit
0.0 h
- 29
77% lit
0.0 h
- 30
67% lit
1.7 h
Each cell is the night that starts on that date. Hours are civil-dark time with the moon below the horizon; the green rule scales with them. Green outline: new moon. Bone outline: full moon.
Within United States
Among the 4 Glow towns in Alaska, Anchorage ranks 3rd by dipole latitude against a regional median of 62.0 degrees; Fairbanks sits highest at 65.7. Among the 136 Glow towns in United States, Anchorage ranks 3rd by dipole latitude against a national median of 51.5 degrees; Fairbanks sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Anchorage gets 16.3 hours of civil night, 2nd longest of 136 in United States, where the median is 13.8.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Anchorage?
- Anchorage sits at 61.9 degrees geomagnetic, inside SWPC's 60 to 75 degree band, where aurora can be seen on more than half of all nights. No storm is needed: by SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 3. Clear, dark sky over Anchorage still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Anchorage?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from Jun 2 to Jul 8. Tonight has 11 h 5 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Anchorage?
- January, by civil night at Anchorage times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Anchorage in the dark months?
- About 72% mean cloud amount over Anchorage in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology.
- How often is activity high enough for Anchorage?
- A 3-hour Kp of 3 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 50% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
- Which time zone does the Anchorage page use?
- America/Anchorage, with Alaska daylight time when it applies.
- Why might the sky stay empty when OVATION is high?
- Cloud, twilight and city light are separate from OVATION. Any one of them can hide a modeled oval.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Anchorage by month
Region and comparisons