See if the northern lights reach your sky tonight

Liminal Cosmos reads NOAA's live aurora map for where you are, then checks cloud, moonlight, darkness and city lights. When the answer is no, it shows what is in the way.

Free on iPhone. No ads.

The Home tab. A card reads: The northern lights reach where you are. Below it, a Plan a trip card names the best night.

Tonight, where you are

One sentence says if the northern lights reach where you are right now. Under it are four checks: city lights, darkness, cloud and the moon. A compass shows which way to look. Search any town to see the answer there.

The Tonight screen. A compass points north-northwest, above four rows: a bit bright here, the sky is dark, the sky is clear, the moon is down.

Trip planner

See which of the next 27 nights are the best bet for the northern lights, from NOAA's forecast. A forecast weeks ahead can change, and it can't know the cloud.

Free shows the 3 best nights. Pro shows all 27, for any place.

The Trip planner. It names the best night, then lists each night with its forecast and its hours of dark.

Best months

See which months have had the most nights with a strong aurora, from storm records going back to 1932.

With Pro, count from the years you choose.

Best months. It names March, September and October, from 95 years of records, above a year range.

Alerts

Get a notification when a storm starts, with what caused it and what to expect. Turn alerts on without signing in.

Pro adds the solar wind alert, a notification up to an hour before the aurora brightens, and a notification when NOAA forecasts a storm.

The Alerts list. Each row gives the aurora strength in plain words above NOAA's own alert title.

The aurora on a globe

Spin a globe that shows where the aurora is now, with your place marked.

The Aurora tab. A globe shows a green ring of aurora over the north, above forecast maps.

Also in the app

Sightings near you

See what people near you report, with their photos. To report the northern lights yourself, sign in with Apple.

The sun and space weather

See the sun, its sunspots and today's pictures from NASA's spacecraft. Every reading comes with a plain word.

Assistant

Ask about the aurora or the app. The assistant runs on the iPhone with Apple Intelligence, so questions stay on the phone. It appears only where the iPhone and its language support Apple Intelligence. Its answers can be wrong.

Help

Help in Settings explains each word and number the app shows.

Widgets

See tonight's answer and the best months on the Home Screen.

Six languages

English, German, Finnish, Japanese, Norwegian and Swedish.

Liminal Cosmos Pro

The app is free. Pro is an optional subscription.

Free

Tonight's answer
The globe
Storm alerts
The assistant
The 3 best nights of the Trip planner

Pro adds

The solar wind alert: a notification up to an hour before the aurora brightens
Storm forecast notifications
Best spot near you
Every night of the 27-night Trip planner, for any place
Best months counted from the years you choose

$19.99a year

$2.99a month

The first week is free when Apple offers a trial.

Buying Pro needs no sign-in. To use Pro on another device, sign in to the App Store there with the same Apple Account and tap Restore Purchases.

Pro renews until you cancel. Cancel at any time in your Apple Account settings.

Prices are in US dollars. The app shows the price in your currency before you buy.

Where the forecasts come from

Space weather comes from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center and NASA. Past storm records come from GFZ Potsdam. Cloud cover comes from Apple Weather. Liminal Cosmos is not affiliated with NOAA, NASA or GFZ.

A forecast is not a promise. No app can tell you for sure that you will see the aurora.

Get Liminal Cosmos

Free on the App Store, for iPhone.