That's what she said...
More to the point I was wondering if it was illuminated in any way, and how long the US has been at the practice... You never see any pictures of the practice precisely for the reason above, it seems like it could be one of those factors to make up a really bad night coming back to the boat.
Night tanking isn't a lot of "fun", but it isn't a huge deal either. If you want gas, then you have to do it. Think of it like flying night formation. Same issues. A little harder to judge aspect, etc.
The basket is glow-in-the-dark, but not really lit. You have a probe light, if it works. The tanker might have all of it's nav and form lights on, or it might not. Depends on who is aided. On a KC-130, you might not even see the basket until it's about 10 feet away. Just maintain position off of the tanker and keep it coming. It's right where it was during the day. The basket doesn't know that it's dark outside.
If you're going to tank on the goggles (currently prohibited in some commands), just be sure to give yourself a little more eye relief. Roll them out 4 or 5 turns so that at the last second you can look past them for the final "big city move" to plug. This is mainly a Harrierism because of how our probe is set up. Hornet guys probably don't need to worry about that.
Trim, scan, relax, and keep the closure coming. Repeat until you have enough gas or divert.
EEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNJOY!!