Santa Cruz Province, ArgentinaMagnetic latitude 34.3°Population 56,31019 m above sea level
Can you see the southern lights in Caleta Olivia?
From Caleta Olivia the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 9 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the south. Strong enough for photos on 2 nights since 1995 — most recently on 10 May 2024.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 21:19.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 2.3 expected, 9 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (94% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 21:19 to 05:08. A bright moon (84%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Thursday 22 October — No · Kp 2.3 · Forecast cloud: 94%. · Reliability: medium
Each box is one night: the colour shows the chance, the number the expected Kp. Tap a night for details.
📅 Add these nights to your calendar — it updates itself (.ics)
How far ahead can the northern lights be forecast?
- Minutes to an hour: satellites 1.5 million km away measure the solar wind before it reaches Earth. This is the surest warning — the “Right now” box uses it.
- 1–3 days: when the Sun throws out a cloud of particles, it takes one to three days to arrive. NOAA's 3-hourly forecast covers these nights; the timing can still be off by a few hours.
- 4–27 days: the Sun turns once every 27 days, and regions that disturbed Earth's field last time often do it again. NOAA's 27-day outlook gives this rough trend — new eruptions are not in it yet.
Tonight
Updated 07:54 local time
Unlikely
Best around 21:00. Forecast max Kp 2.3 (this place needs 9+), average cloud 94%.
- Dark enough
- 21:19 – 05:08
- Sunset
- 20:08 · sunrise 06:20
- Moon
- 84% · ↑ 16:16 · ↓ 04:40
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 9+
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 9 (a red glow low in the south).
- Look towards
- south (170°)
Cloud layers and weather
Low cloud blocks the aurora completely. Thin high cloud often still lets a bright aurora shine through, so a sky with only high cloud is worth a look.
| Time | Thu, 21 | Fri, 00 | Fri, 03 | Fri, 21 | Sat, 00 | Sat, 03 | Sat, 22 | Sun, 01 | Sun, 04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 48% | 52% | 52% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 9% | 9% | 9% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 8 °C | 7 °C | 7 °C | 9 °C | 8 °C | 8 °C | 9 °C | 9 °C | 9 °C |
| Feels like | 5 °C | 5 °C | 5 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 7 °C | 8 °C |
| Wind | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s |
Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
Weather in Caleta Olivia
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Caleta Olivia: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
Planning further ahead? See the hour-by-hour weather forecast for Caleta Olivia on Atlas of Seasons.
Seeing it right now?
Tell others in Santa Cruz Province. Reports from real visitors move a place up the live ranking.
Reports are anonymous: we do not store your IP address or location. One report per place every few hours.
What you would see from Caleta Olivia
Facing south. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Below the horizon | -12° | -11° | 3,136 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -11° | -9° | 2,913 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -10° | -8° | 2,691 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -9° | -7° | 2,469 km |
| 6 | Below the horizon | -7° | -5° | 2,246 km |
| 7 | Below the horizon | -6° | -4° | 2,024 km |
| 8 | Below the horizon | -5° | -2° | 1,801 km |
| 9 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | -3° | 0° | 1,579 km |
The Kp scale in plain words
Kp is a 0–9 score for how strongly the Earth's magnetic field is being shaken by the solar wind. The higher it goes, the further from the poles the northern lights reach. Kp 0–2 is a quiet night; Kp 5 and above is a geomagnetic storm.
- Kp 0–2 Quiet Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled next 24 h Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
- Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
- Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
- Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) Central Europe to the eye; red sky in photos from northern Italy, Spain, the Balkans and Turkey's Black Sea coast.
- Kp 9 Extreme storm (G5) camera in Caleta Olivia Seen across Europe and the US; in photos as far south as the Mediterranean, Turkey and North Africa (May 2024).
Light pollution
Bright suburban sky. Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
Terrain is not modelled for this place.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Caleta Olivia
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 9+ or more is too rare here for monthly odds to be meaningful. The table still shows how often nights are clear and dark.
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | 0% | 75% | 9.1 h | 8° / 20°C |
| April | 0% | 72% | 11.0 h | 4° / 15°C |
| May | 0% | 60% | 12.3 h | 1° / 10°C |
| June | 0% | 53% | 12.8 h | -1° / 7°C |
| July | 0% | 55% | 12.6 h | -2° / 6°C |
| August | 0% | 57% | 11.5 h | 0° / 9°C |
| September | 0% | 66% | 9.9 h | 1° / 13°C |
| October | 0% | 68% | 8.3 h | 4° / 17°C |
Nights when Caleta Olivia could catch it in photos
Since 1995, nights with Kp 9 or more while it was dark here — a red or green glow low on the horizon.
- 10 May 2024 · Kp 9.0
- 28 October 2003 · Kp 9.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- General Enrique Mosconi International Airport (CRD) · 74 km
- Typical low / high in January
- 10° / 25°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 911 (national emergencies); 107 medical (varies by locality); 100 fire; 103 Defensa Civil
- Winter driving
- On RN 3 in Tierra del Fuego, winter road reports based on Vialidad Nacional data require chains for heavy vehicles and winter tyres for light vehicles, and the Ushuaia-Tolhuin section (Paso Garibaldi) can close in heavy snow. Check Vialidad Nacional's road status before travelling. Road conditions
- Access to land
- Parque Nacional Tierra del Fuego (APN) has daytime entry hours (April-September 9:00-18:00); free camping is permitted only in designated areas with an APN camping permit, so night viewing inside the park means staying at an authorised campsite.
- Weather service
- Servicio Meteorológico Nacional (SMN)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Caleta Olivia?
From Caleta Olivia the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 9 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the south.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Caleta Olivia?
Around Caleta Olivia the aurora is often right overhead. Start by facing south, but look up and all around — in strong storms it can fill the whole sky and even appear behind you.
When is the aurora season in Caleta Olivia?
Caleta Olivia gets dark enough for the aurora all year round, though the long winter nights give the most hours to watch.
Is there much light pollution in Caleta Olivia?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Caleta Olivia share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Cañadón Seco 14 km