Why we built Night Sky Copilot
Every night-sky question is really one question: is tonight worth going outside? The data to answer it exists: NOAA publishes the solar wind in real time, weather models know your clouds, the moon's schedule is solved centuries out. But the existing tools make you do the assembly: a Kp number here, a cloud app there, a Reddit thread to learn your camera sees more than your eyes. We do the assembly. You get a verdict.
01Nowcast physics, not Kp guesswork
Most aurora sites show you the Kp index: a 3-hour global average that lags reality. We read the aurora's fuel while it's still in transit: NOAA satellites sit 930,000 miles sunward of us and measure the solar wind before it arrives, so its magnetic tilt, speed, and density are known 30–60 minutes ahead of the sky's reaction. That's the difference between "activity is elevated" and "go outside at 10:40."
02Two verdicts: your eyes and your camera
Aurora is photographable from the mid-latitudes far more often than it's visible, because a 3-second night-mode exposure collects light your dark-adapted eyes can't. Every forecast we publish carries both thresholds, with camera settings for tonight's conditions. Nobody else models sub-visual photographability, and for most 2026 searchers the photo is the goal.
03Live reports from people outside right now
A model tells you what should be happening; the people already standing outside tell you what is. One-tap sighting reports ("I see it" / "nothing here") from within about 275 miles sit right alongside the forecast, so you get both layers: the physics, and a live read from real eyes on the sky nearby.
04The full answer, free, on the web
No app gate, no 'download to see the forecast,' no ads that eat the page. Hour-by-hour forecasts, best-window timing, dark-site directions, and alerts, all free in your browser and free in your inbox.
05The whole night sky, honestly scored
Aurora is one wing of this site: meteor showers with real moon math, a computed full-moon calendar, dark-sky directories, and stargazing guidance that admits when a night isn't worth your drive. We would rather tell you to stay home than sell you a bad night.
Want the receipts? The methodology page documents every data source, threshold, and formula behind the verdicts.