When is it dark enough in Fairbanks?

Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from May 13 to Jul 28. Tonight has 11 h of it.

What is the best month for aurora in Fairbanks?

January, by civil night at Fairbanks times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.

How cloudy is Fairbanks in the dark months?

About 64% mean cloud amount over Fairbanks 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 Fairbanks?

Almost always: the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 1. Storm days, Kp 5 or more, made up 10% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ record.

Does a high OVATION number mean I will see aurora in Fairbanks?

No. OVATION is a model value for the 1 degree cell that holds Fairbanks. Cloud, moonlight, city light and timing still decide what you see.

Is cloud cover included for Fairbanks?

Yes. Fairbanks is in the United States, so Glow reads NWS gridpoint skyCover for its grid square. It is a forecast percent, not a camera view.

Alaska, United States

Northern lights in Fairbanks

Answer

Fairbanks's OVATION cell reads 9% for 12:30 UTC. Civil darkness has begun. OVATION is a model of the next 30 to 90 minutes, not a sighting.

OVATION cell 65°N, 148°W

OVATION 30 to 90 minute forecast, observed 10:58 UTC

Tonight

Darkness window open

Civil darkness has begun.

OVATION cell

OVATION 30 to 90 minute forecast

Cell 65°N, 148°W
Observed 10:58 UTC, forecast 12:30 UTC, 92 min lead

Darkness

Dark now

Civil dusk 20:06, civil dawn 07:15

SunCalc at 64.8378, -147.7164
Clock times in America/Anchorage

Cloud

51%

partly to mostly cloudy; NWS period containing the retrieval time

NWS AFG grid 493,119
Valid 09:00 to 12:00 UTC

CivilNauticalAstronomicalMoon up while dark10 PM to 2 AM

Storm level needed

Fairbanks sits at 64.84N 147.72W in Alaska, United States. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Fairbanks at 65.7 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 0.8 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Fairbanks sits at 65.7 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 1.

"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."
NOAA SWPC, Aurora

The nearest other Glow towns are Eagle River (402 km), Anchorage (417 km), Whitehorse (788 km). Eagle River sits 3.6 degrees lower on the dipole, Kp 2 against 1 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

Civil twilightNautical twilightAstronomical nightMoon up in darkness10 PM to 2 AM, SWPC best windowToday

From May 13 to July 28 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 77 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 August 9 to May 1 across New Year, 266 days in 2026. Fairbanks's longest night of the year, Dec 19, has 17 h 15 min of civil night.

Solar midnight at Fairbanks, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:46 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:51 on June 15. That is 46 min after midnight in December and 1 h 51 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Fairbanks the darkest hour sits late in SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window.

Month by month

Civil night on the 15th, mean cloud amount, and civil night times the clear share (the best month is marked)
Month	Civil	Astro	Cloud	Clear dark
Jan	16.3 h	12.1 h	55%	7.3 hbest
Feb	13.5 h	9.7 h	59%	5.5 h
Mar	10.4 h	6.2 h	51%	5.1 h
Apr	6.6 h	0.0 h	59%	2.7 h
May	0.0 h	0.0 h	70%	0.0 h
Jun	0.0 h	0.0 h	73%	0.0 h
Jul	0.0 h	0.0 h	77%	0.0 h
Aug	5.0 h	0.0 h	75%	1.3 h
Sep	9.2 h	4.3 h	72%	2.6 h
Oct	12.5 h	8.7 h	77%	2.9 h
Nov	15.5 h	11.5 h	67%	5.1 h
Dec	17.2 h	12.8 h	59%	7.1 h

By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Fairbanks with 17.2 hours of civil night and May the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Fairbanks gets 3,246 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Fairbanks, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.8 hours on December 15.

NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Fairbanks at 66% across the year, from 51% in March to 77% in July. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Fairbanks averages 64%, 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, 7.3 hours, ahead of December at 7.1. Fairbanks's equinox months score 5.1 in March and 2.6 in September, the weeks SWPC links with larger storms.

Kp history

12%

10%

11%

14%

12%

10%

Quiet levels are enough at Fairbanks: a 3-hour Kp of 1 or more occurred on 96% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record. The days that matter are storm days, Kp 5 or more: 10% of all days, most often in September.

Share of UTC days in each calendar month whose highest 3-hour Kp reached Kp 5. 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. 14 of the 30 nights at Fairbanks have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 5 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Fairbanks has 11 h of civil night, 0 min of it with the moon down.

1
64% lit
0.0 h
2
53% lit
0.0 h
3
41% lit
1.1 h
4
30% lit
4.0 h
5
21% lit
6.1 h
6
12% lit
8.1 h
7
6% lit
9.9 h
8
2% lit
11.7 h
9
0% lit
11.9 h
10
1% lit
12.0 h
New
11
3% lit
12.1 h
12
7% lit
12.2 h
13
13% lit
12.3 h
14
21% lit
12.4 h
15
29% lit
12.5 h
16
38% lit
12.6 h
17
47% lit
12.7 h
18
56% lit
9.7 h
19
66% lit
7.8 h
20
75% lit
6.1 h
21
83% lit
4.4 h
22
90% lit
2.8 h
23
96% lit
1.0 h
24
99% lit
0.0 h
25
100% lit
0.0 h
Full
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
0.0 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, Fairbanks ranks 1st by dipole latitude against a regional median of 62.0 degrees, the highest of them. Among the 136 Glow towns in United States, Fairbanks ranks 1st by dipole latitude against a national median of 51.5 degrees, the highest of them. On December 15 Fairbanks gets 17.2 hours of civil night, 1st longest of 136 in United States, where the median is 13.8.

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Fairbanks?: Fairbanks sits at 65.7 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 1. Clear, dark sky over Fairbanks still decides it.
When is it dark enough in Fairbanks?: Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from May 13 to Jul 28. Tonight has 11 h of it.
What is the best month for aurora in Fairbanks?: January, by civil night at Fairbanks times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
How cloudy is Fairbanks in the dark months?: About 64% mean cloud amount over Fairbanks 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 Fairbanks?: Almost always: the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 1. Storm days, Kp 5 or more, made up 10% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ record.
Does a high OVATION number mean I will see aurora in Fairbanks?: No. OVATION is a model value for the 1 degree cell that holds Fairbanks. Cloud, moonlight, city light and timing still decide what you see.
Is cloud cover included for Fairbanks?: Yes. Fairbanks is in the United States, so Glow reads NWS gridpoint skyCover for its grid square. It is a forecast percent, not a camera view.