Flanders, BelgiumMagnetic latitude 47.3°Population 69,0116 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Ostend?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 7.7 or more) bring the aurora into view from Ostend — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the north. Since 1995 that level (Kp 7.7) was reached during darkness here on 35 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 0.0).
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 2.7 expected, 7.7 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (39% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 20:05 to 07:03.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 No · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 No · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 No · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 No · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 No · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 No · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 No · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 No · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 No · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 No · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 No · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 No · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 No · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 No · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 No · Kp 3
Saturday 17 October — No · Kp 2.7 · Forecast cloud: 39%. · Reliability: good
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 20:05 local time
Unlikely
Best around 20:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 7.7), average cloud 39%.
- Dark enough
- 20:05 – 07:03
- Sunset
- 18:53 · sunrise 08:15
- Moon
- 32% · ↑ 14:52 · ↓ 21:38
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 7.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 6 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (358°)
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
Seeing it right now?
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What you would see from Ostend
Facing north. 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 | -4° | -1° | 1,690 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -3° | 1° | 1,468 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -1° | 3° | 1,245 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | 1° | 6° | 1,023 km |
| 6 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 10° | 801 km |
| 7 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 8° | 16° | 578 km |
| 8 | Visible to the north | 15° | 27° | 356 km |
| 9 | Visible to the north | 37° | 55° | 133 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) camera in Ostend 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) eye in Ostend 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
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 Ostend
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 7.7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 0% | 39% | 8.9 h | 11° / 20°C |
| October | 0.2% | 22% | 10.8 h | 9° / 16°C |
| November | 0% | 14% | 12.5 h | 5° / 11°C |
| December | 0% | 13% | 13.1 h | 3° / 7°C |
| January | 0.2% | 17% | 12.8 h | 1° / 6°C |
| February | 0% | 21% | 11.4 h | 1° / 8°C |
| March | 0.2% | 31% | 9.5 h | 3° / 11°C |
| April | 0% | 46% | 7.3 h | 5° / 14°C |
Aurora nights in Ostend since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 7.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 8.7
- 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
- 10 October 2024 · Kp 8.7
- 11 May 2024 · Kp 7.7
- 10 May 2024 · Kp 9.0
- 23 March 2023 · Kp 8.0
- 7 September 2017 · Kp 8.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Ostend-Bruges International Airport (OST) · 4 km
- Typical low / high in January
- 1° / 6°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. Full clothing guide
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Ostend?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 7.7 or more) bring the aurora into view from Ostend — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the north.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Ostend?
Face north (about 358° from true north). At Kp 7.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 15° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
When is the aurora season in Ostend?
Ostend 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 Ostend?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display.
When was the aurora last possible in Ostend?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Ostend needs, during darkness, was 20 January 2026 (Kp 7.7). It has happened on 35 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Ostend share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Oostende 0 km
- Kontredam 1 km
- Stene 2 km
- Sas-Slijkens 2 km
- Gemenedijk 2 km
- Turkijen 3 km
- Mariakerke-Bad 3 km
- Mariakerke 3 km
- De Barreel 3 km
- Zandvoorde 4 km
- Snaaskerkepolder 4 km
- Snaaskerke 4 km
- Arrondissement Oostende 4 km
- Mariakerke - Raversijde 4 km
- Raversijde 5 km
- Plassendale 5 km
- Zandvoordebrug 6 km
- Oudenburg 6 km
- Leffinge 6 km
- Pomptje 7 km
- Oudenburg 7 km
- Sint-Pieters-Kapelle 11 km