Northern lights Texas tonight

The McDonald Observatory sits at 2070 m in the Davis Mountains of west Texas - one of the darkest skies in the continental USA. The International Dark Sky Park designation covers the surrounding region. At 30.7°N geographic (roughly 38°N magnetic), the latitude is low, but the darkness is exceptional. During major G3-G4 storms, the aurora appears above the northern horizon from the observatory plateau. The Star Party programme at McDonald runs nightly.

The most remote national park in the lower 48, with Bortle 1 sky over a vast desert. At 29°N geographic the latitude is low - aurora here requires Kp 7+ and is a rare event that occurs only a handful of times per solar cycle. The Chisos Basin and the Rio Grande floodplain give outstanding sky photography conditions. For aurora, the northern horizon above the park plateau is the target direction.

The Texas Panhandle at 34-36°N geographic (approximately 42-44°N magnetic) gives the state's best latitude for aurora. Caprock Canyons near Quitaque gives Bortle 2 conditions with the canyon rims facing north across open plains. At 44°N magnetic along the panhandle northern edge near Dalhart, the Kp threshold drops to roughly Kp 5. The flat plains give an unobstructed northern horizon.

The "Grand Canyon of Texas" sits in the southern Panhandle with canyon walls as dramatic foreground for aurora photography. The plateau above the canyon faces north across open plains. Amarillo at 35.2°N geographic sits at roughly 43°N magnetic - a more favourable threshold than Dallas. Rural roads north of Amarillo toward Dumas give flat plains dark sky with the aurora rising from ground level to the north.