Aurora Tonight
Live NOAA aurora oval, Kp index, solar wind and geomagnetic storm alerts in one dashboard -- refreshed automatically, with a personal "can I see it tonight?" verdict for your location.
Loading the live aurora forecast map.
Data: NOAA SWPC
Kp index right now
Solar wind
Southward (negative) Bz is favourable — it lets the solar wind couple with Earth's magnetic field. A strongly positive Bz usually means little happens even if speed and density are high.
Total field strength
Active alerts
All alertsNext 48 hours
Full Kp explainerLoading the Kp forecast.
Want a verdict just for you?
Set your location once and get a plain answer -- excellent, good, possible, or unlikely -- with every reason behind it: geomagnetic latitude, the Kp you need, live aurora oval odds, darkness and moonlight.
Flagship aurora destinations
Tromsø
Norway
Fairbanks
United States
Reykjavík
Iceland
Yellowknife
Canada
Rovaniemi
Finland
Hobart
Australia
Understand the forecast
What Is the Kp Index? A Plain-English Guide
The Kp index is the single number most aurora forecasts lead with. Here is what it actually measures, where it comes from, and why it is a blunt instrument rather than a precise prediction.
How Aurora Forecasts Actually Work (and Why They Are Only 30-90 Minutes Ahead)
Aurora forecasts have a genuine, hard limit on how far ahead they can be reliable. Here is how a forecast like this one is actually built, layer by layer, and why anyone promising precise predictions days out is overselling it.
The NOAA G-Scale Explained: G1 to G5 Geomagnetic Storms
NOAA rates geomagnetic storms on a G1-to-G5 scale, similar in spirit to hurricane categories. Here is what each level means, how it maps to the Kp index, what it actually takes to reach one, and how it relates to the two other NOAA space weather scales.
How to Read a Solar Wind Plot: Bz, Bt, Speed and Density
The real-time solar wind data behind every aurora forecast comes down to four numbers: Bz, Bt, speed and density. Here is what each one means, which one to watch first, and how to read a specific combination.
Frequently asked questions
How current is the data on this page?
The Kp index and solar wind refresh automatically about once a minute, and the aurora oval map refreshes about every five minutes -- the same cadence NOAA itself publishes at. A "data freshness" note shows exactly how old the numbers on screen are.
Does a high Kp index guarantee I will see the aurora?
No. Kp is a good proxy for how far the auroral oval has expanded, but it says nothing about whether it is dark, whether the moon is bright, or whether clouds are in the way at your specific location. Use /tonight/ for a verdict that accounts for all of those at once.
Why does this site ask for my location?
Only to compute a personal verdict entirely inside your browser. Your coordinates are stored in this browser only (localStorage) and are never sent to any server -- see the privacy page for the full explanation.
What is the difference between the map and the Kp index?
The Kp index is a single global number. The map shows NOAA's OVATION model, which estimates where the aurora oval actually is right now, including the fact that it is rarely a perfectly even ring around the pole. When the two disagree, the map is the more physically direct signal.