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Live Aurora & Kp Index Forecast (NOAA Data)

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Is it out tonight?

Live Kp · nowPlanetary K · NOAA SWPCPeak —expected tonight

Reading the sky…

MoonDark window
/ 90 points reach tonight's peak (—)
/ 90 at the live Kp right now
See tonight's spots on the atlas →

The forecast timeline

The near sky in 3-hour bins — peak ◌ Kp 0.0, and ● live now on the left.

NOAA's official 30-minute aurora forecast ↗

Tonight’s map

● Live
The OVATION ovals and every watch point on Earth, coloured by tonight’s odds.
Waiting for live Kp from NOAA… · faint glow low on the poleward horizon · ☾ moon 93%

By location

70 in view

Whether you'll see it depends on geomagnetic latitude, not map latitude — which is why Yellowknife sees the aurora as readily as Tromsø, and Ushuaia needs a major storm. Both hemispheres, live against tonight's Kp.

Northern Europe · 31
Svalbard (Longyearbyen)·
Norway
needs Kp 0
Can sit inside/poleward of oval; only place with polar-night daytime-dark aurora; polar-bear safety outside town.
Abisko·
Sweden
needs Kp 1
Famous 'blue hole' microclimate — among the clearest skies in Europe.
Akureyri·
Iceland
needs Kp 1 · twilight sky
Northern Iceland; slightly better oval position.
Alta·
Norway
needs Kp 1
Inland; more stable clear skies than the coast.
Inari·
Finland
needs Kp 1
Sami village, dark skies.
Kirkenes·
Norway
needs Kp 1
Far northeast, near Russian border.
Lofoten Islands·
Norway
needs Kp 1
Dramatic coastal scenery; cloud-prone.
Senja·
Norway
needs Kp 1
Quieter alternative to Tromsø.
Tromsø·
Norway
needs Kp 1
Aurora capital; inside the oval; mild but cloud-prone (Gulf Stream).
Iceland (countrywide)·
Iceland
needs Kp 2 · twilight sky
Whole island well-placed; weather is the limiter; no aurora May–Jul (midnight sun).
Ivalo·
Finland
needs Kp 2
Far-north Lapland.
Kiruna·
Sweden
needs Kp 2
ICEHOTEL (Jukkasjärvi); inland clear skies.
Murmansk / Kola Peninsula·
Russia · ⚠ travel advisory
needs Kp 2
Best in Russia; drive to tundra for darkness. Check travel advisories.
Nellim·
Finland
needs Kp 2
Remote, on Lake Inari.
Reykjavík·
Iceland
needs Kp 2 · twilight sky
City light pollution; drive out for darkness.
Rovaniemi·
Finland
needs Kp 2
Capital of Lapland; 130+ aurora nights/season.
Saariselkä·
Finland
needs Kp 2
Resort area near Ivalo.
Svolvær·
Norway
needs Kp 2
Lofoten hub.
Faroe Islands (Tórshavn)·
Faroe Islands
needs Kp 3 · twilight sky
Further north than Scotland; very cloudy/windy.
Oulu·
Finland
needs Kp 3 · twilight sky
Southern edge of Lapland.
Helsinki·
Finland
needs Kp 4 · twilight sky
Oslo·
Norway
needs Kp 4
Southern Norway.
Shetland·
United Kingdom
needs Kp 4 · twilight sky
Northernmost UK.
Stockholm·
Sweden
needs Kp 4
Aberdeenshire·
United Kingdom
needs Kp 5
Drier east coast (better than cloudy west).
Caithness (north Highlands)·
United Kingdom
needs Kp 5
Copenhagen·
Denmark
needs Kp 5
Donegal·
Ireland
needs Kp 5
Best in Ireland; dark Atlantic skies.
Edinburgh·
United Kingdom
needs Kp 5
Horizon glow at Kp 5; overhead needs Kp 7–8.
Estonia (Tartu / coast)·
Estonia
needs Kp 5
Catches strong storms.
Orkney·
United Kingdom
needs Kp 5
North America · 19
Coldfoot / Bettles·
USA
needs Kp 0
Remote far-north, very dark; fly-in.
Utqiaġvik (Barrow)·
USA
needs Kp 0
Far north slope; any oval activity is overhead.
Churchill·
Canada
needs Kp 1
Sub-arctic; polar bears; very high oval position.
Dawson City·
Canada
needs Kp 1 · twilight sky
Far north Yukon.
Fairbanks·
USA
needs Kp 1 · twilight sky
Premier US destination; season ~Aug 21–Apr 21.
Iqaluit·
Canada
needs Kp 1 · twilight sky
Very high latitude.
Yellowknife·
Canada
needs Kp 1 · twilight sky
Among the world's best — ~240 aurora nights/yr; dry, clear continental climate.
Denali·
USA
needs Kp 2 · twilight sky
Dark skies, mountain foregrounds (Bortle 1–3).
Anchorage·
USA
needs Kp 3 · twilight sky
Needs more activity than Fairbanks.
Fort McMurray·
Canada
needs Kp 3
Northern Alberta.
Whitehorse·
Canada
needs Kp 3 · twilight sky
Accessible; Fish Lake/Marsh Lake dark sites.
Edmonton·
Canada
needs Kp 4
Major city; southern edge of regular viewing.
Jasper·
Canada
needs Kp 4
Dark Sky Preserve; needs moderate activity.
Michigan Upper Peninsula (Keweenaw)·
USA
needs Kp 5
Great Lakes dark-sky shoreline; Headlands Dark Sky Park.
Montana (Glacier NP)·
USA
needs Kp 5
Wild dark skies, mountain horizons.
North Dakota·
USA
needs Kp 5
Flat, dark.
Northern Maine (Acadia)·
USA
needs Kp 5
East-coast option.
Northern Minnesota (Voyageurs)·
USA
needs Kp 5
Best lower-48 region; dark sites near Rainy Lake.
Washington (North Cascades)·
USA
needs Kp 6
Inconsistent; strong storms only.
Greenland · 3
Oceania · 11
Bruny Island / Cockle Creek·
Australia
needs Kp 4
Darkest southern Tasmania; Cockle Creek faces due south over dark water.
Stewart Island / Rakiura·
New Zealand
needs Kp 4
Dark Sky Sanctuary; NZ's most reliable.
Dunedin / Otago Peninsula·
New Zealand
needs Kp 5
Coastal viewing (Taiaroa Head, Sandfly Bay).
Hobart·
Australia
needs Kp 5
Southernmost Australian capital; Mt Wellington for elevation.
Invercargill·
New Zealand
needs Kp 5
Southernmost city; direct flights.
Lake Tekapo (Aoraki Mackenzie)·
New Zealand
needs Kp 5
World-class dark-sky reserve partly compensates for latitude.
Launceston·
Australia
needs Kp 5
Northern Tasmania.
Queenstown / Southland·
New Zealand
needs Kp 5
Lake/mountain foregrounds.
Christchurch·
New Zealand
needs Kp 6
Lower frequency than far-south sites.
Victoria coast (Phillip Island)·
Australia
needs Kp 6
Strong storms only.
South Australia coast (Kangaroo Is.)·
Australia
needs Kp 7
Strong storms only.
South America · 3
South Atlantic · 2
Africa · 1

Thresholds are averages. Real visibility also needs dark, clear skies and a cooperative moon — read every status as a chance, never a guarantee. High-latitude northern sites get no true darkness in their summer (≈ May–Aug), so a green “possible” there still means waiting for darker months. The Horizon / Overhead toggle is why sources disagree on a place's “Kp.”

The Kp archive

GFZ definitive record · 3-hour UTC intervals
Max Kp
Storm nights
Time at storm level
Avg Kp
Tap a day — its eight intervals open here.
Kp data: GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences · CC BY 4.0 ↗
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