AuroraChaser: Northern Lights

Know when to look up.
AuroraChaser is a northern lights forecast made only for Northern Norway and Svalbard. It shows when and where to look for aurora tonight at more than 120 viewing spots, from Tromsø and Lofoten to Alta and Svalbard.

One score for each spot
Each spot gets an aurora score from 0 to 100 for every hour. It combines your chance of seeing the northern lights (aurora borealis) with your own eyes in that hour and how bright they should be. We calibrated it on years of all-sky camera records.

This far north, aurora can be overhead even when the Kp index is only 0 to 2. Cloud and darkness decide more nights than Kp does. So the aurora forecast weighs five things:
• Aurora activity from NOAA's OVATION model, overhead and towards the auroral oval
• Cloud for that spot, from MET Norway
• Darkness from the sun's position, polar night included
• Moonlight, and how much faint aurora it washes out
• Light pollution at the spot

There are spots around Tromsø, Lofoten, Alta, Senja, Harstad, Narvik, Bodø, Kirkenes, Svalbard, Nordkapp and Hammerfest, Vesterålen, Lyngenfjord, Varanger and Finnmarksvidda. If you are staying in Tromsø, you will find spots in town, out on Kvaløya and in the valleys inland. Each has its own northern lights forecast, so you can see whether you need to leave Tromsø at all tonight.

Plan your night
• The Forecast tab shows tonight's peak score, best window and "Our pick", the spot we suggest in your region tonight
• Each spot shows its distance from town and usually the drive time. A tap opens it in your maps app
• Spots with an evening bus show the stop and tonight's last bus back
• The map shows the auroral oval live, with every spot's score
• After dark on the mainland, a card on Home shows when magnetometers measure aurora activity picking up
• You also get an hourly clear sky forecast, a 14-day chance forecast and the 3-day Kp forecast
• Live road webcams from Statens vegvesen, Norway's road authority, let you check the sky before you drive

Alerts
You get an aurora alert when the score reaches 60 or 80, and when a substorm (a sudden burst of aurora) starts on the mainland while your sky is dark and clear. You choose the alerts and the minimum score. There is also a daily aurora forecast at 18:00, and solar storm warnings while the app is open. Quiet hours stop alerts while the sun is up, or at hours you choose. The 18:00 forecast still comes.

Share your night
• Report a northern lights sighting with your photo, right away at the spot or the next morning. It is dated by when you took the photo
• Start a chase group for your trip, with a shared feed and a group leaderboard
• See community photos of the northern lights and recent sightings at each spot
• Put your photo in a frame with your mascot, the place and the time
• Collect stamps, dress up your mascot and join the leaderboards

Offline
Without a signal, the app shows saved data and how old it is. If live aurora data or the weather forecast is missing, the score is marked "Estimated" and alerts pause.

Free, with no sign-up
Your device is your account. The app is in English, Norwegian, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese. It has no third-party ad networks or tracking SDKs.

Data and privacy
The data comes from NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, MET Norway, FMI's IMAGE magnetometers, NASA DONKI, Statens vegvesen webcams, Entur bus times and maps built from OpenStreetMap. The app credits each source.

Your exact location stays on your phone. If you report a sighting, others see only the nearest viewing spot or the region. All community features are optional.

Privacy policy: https://aurorachaser.app/en/privacy.html
Delete your data: https://aurorachaser.app/en/delete-account.html
Write to us at hello@aurorachaser.app. We wish you many clear nights.