Night sky tonight in Minnesota
Tonight's score out of 10 and the best hours for each Minnesota city we cover, worked out for its own position and time zone. Open a city for the full forecast: the Moon, planets, meteor showers, northern lights, ISS passes and clouds.
Cities in Minnesota
| City | Tonight | Best time | Highlights | Northern lights need |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis | … | … | Kp 6.3 | |
| Rochester | … | … | Kp 6.5 | |
| Duluth | … | … | Kp 5.9 | |
| Lakeville | … | … | Kp 6.4 | |
| St. Cloud | … | … | Kp 6.2 | |
| Mankato | … | … | Kp 6.5 | |
| Willmar | … | … | Kp 6.3 |
Scores before clouds; each city page adds the National Weather Service cloud forecast. Northern lights: see tonight's aurora outlook for Minnesota.
Darkness across Minnesota
How early it gets dark in midwinter and how short the summer nights get, city by city, and how far each city is from the nearest certified dark-sky place.
| City | Sunset Dec 15 | Full darkness Dec 15 | Sunset Jun 15 | Full darkness Jun 15 | Nearest dark-sky place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minneapolis | 4:32 PM | 11.7 h | 9:01 PM | 3.3 h | Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, 225 mi NE |
| Rochester | 4:32 PM | 11.6 h | 8:55 PM | 3.7 h | Thousand Hills State Park, 253 mi S |
| Duluth | 4:21 PM | 11.8 h | 9:04 PM | 2.4 h | Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, 88 mi NE |
| Lakeville | 4:33 PM | 11.6 h | 9:00 PM | 3.4 h | Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, 243 mi N |
| St. Cloud | 4:34 PM | 11.7 h | 9:07 PM | 3.1 h | Voyageurs National Park, 214 mi N |
| Mankato | 4:38 PM | 11.6 h | 9:01 PM | 3.6 h | Thousand Hills State Park, 272 mi S |
| Willmar | 4:39 PM | 11.7 h | 9:09 PM | 3.3 h | Voyageurs National Park, 255 mi NE |
Moon-free nights in Minnesota, month by month
The runs of nights when the Moon is down for most of full darkness, worked out for Minneapolis; across the state the dates shift by a night at most.
- November 2026: Nov 3–15
- December 2026: Dec 2–14, Dec 31
- January 2027: Jan 1–13, Jan 29–31
- February 2027: Feb 1–11, Feb 27–28
- March 2027: Mar 1–11, Mar 28–31
- April 2027: Apr 1–9, Apr 26–30
- May 2027: May 1–8, May 27–31
- June 2027: Jun 1–9, Jun 29–30
- July 2027: Jul 1–11, Jul 29–31
- August 2027: Aug 1–10, Aug 27–31
- September 2027: Sep 1–8, Sep 25–30
- October 2027: Oct 1–6, Oct 24–31
- November 2027: Nov 1–4, Nov 22–30
- December 2027: Dec 1–4, Dec 20–31
Dark-sky places in Minnesota
- Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness: International Dark Sky Sanctuary (2020)
- Voyageurs National Park: International Dark Sky Park (2020)