Matteson
Northern lights in Matteson
Matteson is at 51° magnetic latitude, far from the auroral oval: only strong geomagnetic storms bring the aurora into view, usually low in the northern sky.
Right now · as of
It is too light in Matteson to see the aurora; it gets dark at 19:03.
NOAA’s model gives under 5% overhead right now. It looks only 30 minutes ahead, so check again once it is dark.
NOAA SWPC’s OVATION nowcast for . It ignores cloud and moonlight.
Matteson and the auroral oval
- Matteson is at 50.6° magnetic latitude (IGRF-14 at 2026.8). The aurora circles the magnetic poles, so this says more about how often it is seen here than the latitude on a map does.
- By a rough rule of thumb, the aurora reaches this far when the Kp index is 8 or more.
Good to know
- NOAA’s model ignores cloud and moonlight: a high chance under cloud means nothing to see.
- It looks about 30 minutes ahead, so it says nothing about later tonight.
- Dark here means the sun at least 12° below the horizon; in twilight only a bright aurora shows.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Aurora forecast, Live clouds, Day and night, live