Northern Lights Tonight - GO, MAYBE, or NOβtonight's aurora call for your exact place
byβ’
Check northern lights tonight for US cities and states. Local GO, MAYBE, or NO from NOAA and clouds, not one national Kp number.
Replies
Best
Maker
π
i Product Hunt β Owen here, maker of Aurora Tonight.
The inspiration: I'm in a part of the US where "might the northern lights be out tonight?" is a real question a few times a year. Every time a geomagnetic storm made the news, I'd open three tabs β a Kp index chart, a cloud forecast, a light pollution map β and still couldn't answer the only thing I actually cared about: is it worth driving out of town tonight?
The problem with existing aurora tools is that they show raw space-weather data β Kp indices, oval maps β or worse, invented precision like "73% chance of aurora tonight." Nobody can honestly give you 73%. What you need is a decision: GO, MAYBE, or NO, for your exact place.
So that's all Aurora Tonight does. It combines NOAA's aurora oval with cloud cover, darkness, moonlight, and light pollution for 15+ US states and cities β from Fairbanks down to Colorado β and gives you tonight's call, the best viewing window, the main obstacle in plain language ("clouds moving in after midnight"), and which direction to look. Free, no signup.
How the approach evolved: the biggest decision during the build was what NOT to show. Early versions had more numbers and charts. I cut almost all of them. And when our data snapshot goes stale, the page says UNKNOWN instead of guessing β I'd rather tell you "we don't know right now" than print a confident-looking answer that isn't real.
Would love your feedback β especially if you're in a mid-latitude state where aurora is a once-or-twice-a-year thing. You're exactly who this is for.
Replies