South Australia, AustraliaMagnetic latitude 45.1°Population 3,94746 m above sea level
Can you see the southern lights in Loxton?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 8.7 or more) bring the aurora into view from Loxton — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the south. Since 1995 that level (Kp 8.7) was reached during darkness here on 6 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 20:21.
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 0.7.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 4.7 expected, 8.7 needed here.
- Sky Partly cloudy (56% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 20:21 to 05:23.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Tuesday 20 October — No · Kp 4.7 · Forecast cloud: 56%. · 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 07:35 local time
Unlikely
Best around 19:30. Forecast max Kp 4.7 (this place needs 8.7), average cloud 56%.
- Dark enough
- 20:21 – 05:23
- Sunset
- 19:24 · sunrise 06:20
- Moon
- 52% · ↑ 12:23 · ↓ 02:19
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 8.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 7 (a red glow low in the south).
- Look towards
- south (186°)
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 | Mon, 20 | Mon, 23 | Tue, 02 | Tue, 20 | Tue, 23 | Wed, 02 | Wed, 20 | Wed, 23 | Thu, 02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Mid cloud | 37% | 3% | 7% | 40% | 44% | 40% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 28% | 0% | 26% | 57% | 37% | 51% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 24 °C | 22 °C | 19 °C | 23 °C | 19 °C | 18 °C | 25 °C | 23 °C | 20 °C |
| Feels like | 24 °C | 22 °C | 19 °C | 23 °C | 19 °C | 18 °C | 25 °C | 23 °C | 20 °C |
| Wind | 6 m/s | 5 m/s | 4 m/s | 1 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 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 Loxton
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Loxton: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
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What you would see from Loxton
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 | -6° | -3° | 1,935 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -4° | -1° | 1,712 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -3° | 1° | 1,490 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -1° | 3° | 1,268 km |
| 6 | Below the horizon | 1° | 6° | 1,045 km |
| 7 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 10° | 823 km |
| 8 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 7° | 15° | 600 km |
| 9 | Visible to the south | 14° | 26° | 378 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 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) next 24 h 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) camera in Loxton Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
- Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) eye in Loxton 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) Seen across Europe and the US; in photos as far south as the Mediterranean, Turkey and North Africa (May 2024).
Light pollution
Dark rural sky. Little artificial light. Faint displays are visible once your eyes have adapted.
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 Loxton
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 8.7 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% | 86% | 9.8 h | 16° / 31°C |
| April | 0% | 87% | 11.0 h | 12° / 25°C |
| May | 0.3% | 83% | 11.6 h | 9° / 20°C |
| June | 0% | 84% | 12.3 h | 6° / 17°C |
| July | 0% | 88% | 11.9 h | 5° / 16°C |
| August | 0.2% | 88% | 11.3 h | 6° / 19°C |
| September | 0% | 89% | 10.3 h | 8° / 23°C |
| October | 0% | 83% | 9.0 h | 11° / 27°C |
Aurora nights in Loxton since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 8.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 11 May 2024 · Kp 9.0
- 10 May 2024 · Kp 8.7
- 24 August 2005 · Kp 8.7
- 27 July 2004 · Kp 8.7
- 20 November 2003 · Kp 8.7
- 15 July 2000 · Kp 9.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Adelaide International Airport (ADL) · 194 km
- Typical low / high in May
- 9° / 20°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 000 (112 also works from mobile phones)
- Winter driving
- Under Victoria's Alpine Resorts (Management) Regulations 2020, every vehicle entering Falls Creek, Mt Baw Baw, Mt Buller, Mt Hotham and Mt Stirling must carry fitting wheel chains during the declared snow season (2026: 7 June - 4 October). Check VicTraffic for live Victorian road disruptions; in Tasmania, elevated roads get snow and ice in winter and closures are posted via Tasmania Police alerts / TasALERT. Road conditions
- Access to land
- Most Tasmanian national parks require a valid Parks & Wildlife Service parks pass per vehicle (24-hour, holiday/8-week, annual options; Cradle Mountain excluded from the 24-hour pass). Check land tenure before parking at night and respect any local closures.
- Official space-weather service
- Bureau of Meteorology Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre (Aurora Watch/Alert/Outlook)
- Weather service
- Bureau of Meteorology
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Loxton?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 8.7 or more) bring the aurora into view from Loxton — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the south.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Loxton?
Face south (about 186° from true north). At Kp 8.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 14° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
When is the aurora season in Loxton?
Loxton 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 Loxton?
Little artificial light. Faint displays are visible once your eyes have adapted.
When was the aurora last possible in Loxton?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Loxton needs, during darkness, was 11 May 2024 (Kp 9.0). It has happened on 6 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Loxton share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Katarapko 1 km
- Loxton North 6 km
- Pyap 7 km
- Tookayerta 7 km
- Meramba 12 km
- Pata 14 km
- Markeri 16 km
- Frelyne 16 km
- Winkie 17 km
- New Residence 17 km
- Berri 19 km
- Berri Barmera 19 km
- Glossop 19 km
- Woodleigh 19 km
- Wilpy 20 km
- Bugle Hut 21 km
- Loveday 22 km
- Roseneath 23 km
- Lyrup 23 km
- Tennyson 23 km
- Monash 24 km
- Barmera 24 km
- Myrla 24 km
- Wunkar 25 km
- Veitch 25 km
- Loxton Waikerie 26 km
- Koowa 26 km
- Yinkanie 27 km
- Cobdogla 27 km
- Noora 27 km
- Moorook 28 km
- Ingalta 28 km
- Old Calperum 28 km
- Nangari 28 km
- Wintrena 28 km
- Taldra 29 km
- Pike River 29 km
- Taplan 30 km
- Malpas 30 km
- Bayah 30 km