Check tonight’s local reading →
There is no single best clock time for the whole United States. Season, latitude, and tonight’s weather all change the answer. Use this page for the year and the night in general. Use a local page for tonight’s window.
In a year
In Alaska and other high-latitude places, the useful season is roughly late August through mid-April. Midsummer nights are often too bright, even when the oval is active. June in Fairbanks is usually a darkness no.
In the Lower 48, storms can arrive in any month. Longer nights from September through March help. A strong storm in May still needs a dark enough sky.
Alaska’s “when to come” belongs on the Alaska page, not on a separate places URL.
In a night
Aurora is a night-sky event. On this site, a slot does not count until the sun is 12 degrees below the horizon. That is later than civil twilight, and in summer it can be much later than “after sunset.”
There is no nationwide showtime. “What time tonight?” is answered on each local page as a window, not as one US clock. Mid-latitude looks are often late evening. Do not wait for a fake 73% minute.
It depends on where you are
- Alaska Interior / Fairbanks: darkness and a frequent oval. Season matters as much as tonight.
- Northern Minnesota, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Maine: the oval is closer. Quiet nights can still be no; storm nights can be yes.
- Colorado, Ohio, Illinois, and similar mid-latitude states: event nights only. Most nights are no. A GO here is unusual and local.
Examples: Minnesota, Maine, Colorado, Alaska.
Tonight’s ranked list lives on Where to see the northern lights in the US tonight. How to stand outside is How to see the northern lights.