Alaska, United States
Northern lights in Eagle River
Answer
Tonight
Darkness window open
Civil darkness has begun.
Observed 11:49 UTC, forecast 13:20 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in America/Anchorage
Valid 12:00 to 15:00 UTC
Storm level needed
Eagle River sits at 61.32N 149.57W in Alaska, United States. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Eagle River at 62.1 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 0.8 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Eagle River sits at 62.1 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 2.
"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 Anchorage (21 km), Fairbanks (402 km), Whitehorse (783 km). Anchorage sits 0.2 degrees lower on the dipole, Kp 3 against 2 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 1 to July 9 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 39 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 29 to May 12 across New Year, 288 days in 2026. Eagle River's longest night of the year, Dec 19, has 16 h 20 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Eagle River, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:54 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:59 on June 15. That is 54 min after midnight in December and 1 h 59 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Eagle River 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 | 0.0 h | 72% | 2.1 h | |
| May | 3.7 h | 0.0 h | 79% | 0.8 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 81% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 2.0 h | 0.0 h | 83% | 0.3 h | |
| Aug | 6.2 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 Eagle River with 16.3 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Eagle River gets 3,379 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Eagle River, 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 Eagle River at 74% across the year, from 63% in March to 83% in July. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Eagle River 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. Eagle River'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 2 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Eagle River, on 77% of days. At Eagle River's level the share runs from 70% in December to 85% 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 2. 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 Eagle River have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 5 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Eagle River 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
10.4 h
- 18
56% lit
8.8 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, Eagle River ranks 2nd 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, Eagle River ranks 2nd by dipole latitude against a national median of 51.5 degrees; Fairbanks sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Eagle River 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 Eagle River?
- Eagle River sits at 62.1 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 2. Clear, dark sky over Eagle River still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Eagle River?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from Jun 1 to Jul 9. Tonight has 11 h 5 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Eagle River?
- January, by civil night at Eagle River times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Eagle River in the dark months?
- About 72% mean cloud amount over Eagle River 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 Eagle River?
- A 3-hour Kp of 2 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 77% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Eagle River by month
Region and comparisons