Will I See the Northern Lights Tonight?

The Kp you need, by latitude

The Kp index runs from 0 to 9 and measures how disturbed Earth’s magnetic field is over each 3-hour period. The higher it goes, the further the auroral oval spreads from the magnetic pole. Because the magnetic pole sits on the Canadian side of the Arctic, North America sees aurora at lower geographic latitudes than Europe does: Churchill at 58.7°N is as good as Tromsø at 69.6°N.

“Visible from” means low in the northern sky on a dark, clear night; it is overhead 5–10° of latitude further north. In the southern hemisphere the same scale applies to the aurora australis: Kp 4–5 for southern Tasmania and the south of New Zealand’s South Island, Kp 6–7 for Melbourne and Christchurch.

Place guides with live cams and local thresholds: Finnish & Swedish Lapland · Northern Norway & Tromsø · Iceland · Alaska · Canada · Greenland · Northern United States · Southern Lights: Tasmania & New Zealand. The southern lights page covers the aurora australis.

Tonight’s forecast, 3-hour blocks

NOAA SWPC’s predicted Kp, in UTC, as of 2026-10-27 19:06 UTC; it refreshes from NOAA when the page loads.

How to read the forecast

• Kp is a 3-hour, planet-wide average. NOAA’s forecast gives one number per 3-hour UTC block. A forecast of Kp 4 means some part of that block is likely to be active, not that the sky glows for three hours.
• Storm timing is uncertain. When the Sun throws off a coronal mass ejection, forecasters know roughly when it will arrive, but it can be hours early or late, and its strength depends on the direction of its magnetic field, which is only measured an hour before it arrives.
• The last hour matters most. NOAA’s OVATION model shows where aurora is expected in the next 30–90 minutes from real-time solar-wind data. When the interplanetary magnetic field turns south (a negative Bz) and stays there, displays strengthen.
• The G scale is the storm level. G1 starts at Kp 5 and G5 is Kp 9. A storm watch here means NOAA expects at least G1 in the next 24 hours.

Checklist for tonight

1. Is it dark? The sky needs the sun more than about 12° below the horizon. Near the Arctic Circle, that never happens from late May to mid-July. Each camera above shows its own dark hours.
2. Is it clear? Check cloud before Kp. The cloud percentage on each camera is the current model value at that spot; satellite and cloud-forecast maps from your national weather service show the gaps.
3. How bright is the moon? A full moon washes out faint aurora but not a strong display. The moon panel above gives tonight’s phase.
4. Can you get away from lights? Ten minutes out of town can be the difference between a grey smudge and green curtains. Let your eyes adjust for 15–20 minutes and keep phone screens dim.
5. Are you looking the right way? North in the northern hemisphere, south in the southern. Under the oval, look up as well.
6. Are you patient? Aurora comes in waves. Give it an hour around local magnetic midnight, roughly 22:00–02:00.

Photographing the northern lights

• Camera: tripod, widest lens you own at its widest aperture (f/1.4–f/2.8), ISO 800–3200, 2–15 seconds. Shorter exposures keep fast-moving rays sharp; longer ones suit faint, still arcs.
• Focus: manual focus on a bright star or a distant light, then tape the ring. Autofocus fails in the dark.
• Colour: shoot RAW, or set the white balance to about 3500–4000 K.
• Cold: batteries drain fast below freezing. Keep spares in an inside pocket, and put the camera in a bag before going indoors so it does not fog.

How to photograph the aurora with a phone

Modern phones are good at aurora, often better than your eyes at showing its colour. What they need is to be still for several seconds.

1. Steady it. A small tripod or a phone clamp is best; failing that, prop the phone on a rock, a car roof or your bag. Night modes take longer exposures when they sense the phone is not moving.
2. Turn the flash off and use night mode. On an iPhone, Night mode switches on by itself in the dark; on a tripod you can push its timer to the maximum, up to 30 seconds. On a Pixel use Night Sight, which offers Astrophotography when the phone is still. On Samsung and most Android phones, Night mode works, but Pro (manual) mode is better.
3. In Pro or manual mode: ISO 800–3200, shutter 3–10 seconds, focus set manually to infinity (the mountain or ∞ icon), white balance about 3500–4000 K. Shoot RAW if the phone offers it.
4. Use the self-timer. A 3-second timer stops your tap from shaking the frame.
5. Put something on the ground in the frame. A tree line, a cabin or the water’s edge gives the sky scale. Wide (0.5×) lenses are usually dimmer than the main lens, so try both.
6. Keep the screen dim and be patient. A bright screen ruins your night vision; turn it down and look up between shots. Activity comes in bursts, so keep shooting through a quiet spell.

Planning ahead

Tonight’s odds depend on the Kp forecast, which is only reliable a few days out. Within that range, the aurora forecast for this week names the best of the next seven nights for each place, counting Kp, darkness, moon and cloud. For a trip weeks away, plan around what is certain: hours of real darkness and the moon. The best nights calendar gives both for the next 60 nights in Tromsø, Abisko, Rovaniemi, Reykjavík, Fairbanks, Yellowknife and Hobart, with NOAA’s 27-day outlook added where it reaches.

Questions

What Kp do I need to see the northern lights?

It depends on your latitude. Under the auroral oval (Tromsø, northern Lapland, Fairbanks, Yellowknife, Churchill) Kp 1–2 is usually enough. Iceland and Rovaniemi need about Kp 2–3, Oslo, Stockholm and the Canadian prairies Kp 4–5, Scotland and the northern US border states Kp 5–6, and most of the US and central Europe Kp 7 or more.

Is a high Kp enough on its own?

No. You also need a dark sky (the sun more than 12° below the horizon), clear skies, and ideally a dim moon and no city lights. Cloud stops more aurora sightings than low Kp does.

What time of night is best for the northern lights?

Usually the two or three hours either side of local magnetic midnight, roughly 22:00–02:00 local time, although displays can start as soon as it is dark. Activity comes in bursts of 10–30 minutes, so keep watching.

How accurate is the Kp forecast?

It is good for knowing whether a night is likely to be quiet or stormy, and coarse for timing. It predicts 3-hour blocks, and the arrival of a solar storm can be hours early or late. For the next hour, the cameras and NOAA’s 30-minute OVATION model are better guides.

Can I photograph the northern lights with my phone?

Yes. Rest the phone on something solid or a small tripod, turn the flash off and use night mode (Night mode on iPhone, Night Sight on Pixel), or a manual mode at ISO 800–3200 and 3–10 seconds with focus at infinity. A 3-second self-timer stops your tap from shaking the shot.

Can a camera see aurora my eyes cannot?

Yes. Camera sensors pick up faint green that looks grey to the eye, especially on quiet nights. If a camera shows bright green with rays or movement, it is easily visible in person.