Weather

Tonight’s observing conditions in Naperville, and the next two nights.

This is a prediction from a weather model, not a report of the sky right now. It’s not always correct, so check the sky before you head out.

Tonight in Naperville

Good

Bright Moon

Clear skies all night, from dark at 7:35 PM until 5:40 AM.

Clear sky from 7:35 PM, until 5:40 AM.
Cloud Cover
Clear
Sky Clarity
Good
Steady Air
Average
What These Mean

Excellent, Good, Average, PoorHow good the sky is for observing while it’s clear. “Clouded Out” means there’s no break in the clouds of two hours or more; “No Data” means the forecast didn’t cover it.

Cloud CoverHow much of the sky is covered while it’s dark. More bars is a clearer sky.

Sky ClarityHaze in the air (transparency). Matters most for the Milky Way and galaxies.

Steady AirHow much stars twinkle (seeing). Matters most for the Moon and planets.

Bright MoonThe Moon is more than half lit and up for most of the night. It washes out faint galaxies and the Milky Way.

More gold bars is better.

Next Nights

Friday Average
Saturday Average
See Every Hour →

Weather data provided by Environment and Climate Change Canada (astronomy forecasts), used under the Data Server End-use Licence. Model run Oct 22, 7:00 AM CDT, updated every 6 hours.

Forecast concept from Attilla Danko’s Clear Sky Charts at cleardarksky.com.

The Sun

Thursday: Sunrise 7:10 AM · Sunset 6:00 PM

Northern Lights

Unlikely

Activity is Kp 5 as of 4 PM. Naperville usually needs Kp 7 or higher.

0 3 6 9 10 PM 4 AM 10 AM 4 PM Kp 7: may be visible here

Source: NOAA planetary K-index

Sunspots

3 Spot Groups

31 sunspots in all. The largest group, region 4551, covers about the area of 8 Earths. Region 4560 is the most likely to flare.

4551 4560 4557

Source: NOAA solar region summary

Solar Flares

Moderate

NOAA’s forecast chance of a flare in the next 24 hours.

Minor (C-class)75%
Medium (M-class)20%
Major (X-class)5%

Source: NOAA solar activity forecast

Solar Cycle 25 is past its peak and winding down. September's sunspot number was 69. Solar cycle progression from NOAA’s Space Weather Prediction Center.

Never look at the Sun, even briefly, without a proper solar filter.