Chile4 places
Southern Lights in Chile: Where and When to See Them
From Chile the aurora is mostly a camera sight: in severe storms (about Kp 5 or more) a red glow rises low over the horizon, as it did in May and October 2024.
Featured destinations
Kp 9+ Punta Arenas
Magellan and the Chilean Antarctic Region
Kp 9+ Puerto Williams
Magellan and the Chilean Antarctic Region
Where the aurora is easiest to see
| Place | Region | Kp needed | Kp for photos | Magnetic latitude |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puerto Williams | Magellan and the Chilean Antarctic Region | 9+ | 5 | 41.9° |
| Punta Arenas | Magellan and the Chilean Antarctic Region | 9+ | 6 | 40.1° |
| Santiago | Santiago Metropolitan Region | 9+ | 9+ | 22.0° |
Largest cities
| Place | Population | Kp needed |
|---|---|---|
| Santiago | 4,837,295 | 9+ |
| Punta Arenas | 117,430 | 9+ |
| Puerto Williams | 2,000 | 9+ |
Storm watch: can you see the northern lights from Chile?
Rarely, but yes. In strong storms (about Kp 5 or more) the red upper layer of the aurora rises above the southern horizon of Chile. Phone and camera sensors pick it up far more easily than the eye.
…
| Place | Kp for photos | Kp for the eye | Photo nights since 1995 | Last time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puerto Williams | 5 | 9+ | 650 | Oct 2026 |
| Punta Arenas | 6 | 9+ | 224 | Jul 2026 |
When it was last seen from Chile
Nights with enough activity for photos from Puerto Williams during darkness (Kp 5 or more):
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 7 September 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 24 June 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 5 June 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 15 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 18 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 1 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
How to catch it from Chile
- Watch the forecast: you need about Kp 5 or more — a strong to severe storm. These arrive a day or two after a big eruption on the Sun, so there is usually some warning.
- Get away from city lights and find an open view to the south: a coast, a hill or a field. The glow sits low over the horizon.
- Use your phone's night mode or a camera on a tripod (3–15 s). Check the photo: a red or pink sky to the south is the aurora.
- The best hours are usually 22:00–02:00 local time, but in big storms it can start right after dusk.
- 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) camera in Puerto Williams 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) Seen across Europe and the US; in photos as far south as the Mediterranean, Turkey and North Africa (May 2024).
Live sightings
Where visitors are reporting the aurora right now. A place climbs with every report and drops again as the reports age.
- …
Latest reports
Regions of Chile
- Santiago Metropolitan RegionKp for photos 9+ · 1
- Magellan and the Chilean Antarctic RegionKp for photos 5 · 2
Practical information for Chile
- Emergency number
- 131 ambulance (SAMU), 132 fire (Bomberos), 133 Carabineros; 136 Socorro Andino (mountain rescue)
- Access to land
- Torres del Paine and other Magallanes protected areas are managed by CONAF; check park opening rules before planning night stops.
- Winter driving
- MOP's Dirección de Vialidad runs a winter operations plan (coordinated with Argentina from Antofagasta to Magallanes) for snow clearance on routes and border passes; check Vialidad for closures and any chain requirements. Road conditions
- Drones
- Drones are regulated by the DGAC under DAN 151 (and DAN 91), with limits including 130 m max altitude, visual line of sight and no night flying; check https://www.dgac.gob.cl before flying.
- Weather service
- Dirección Meteorológica de Chile (DMC)
- Certified dark-sky places
- Gabriela Mistral Dark Sky Sanctuary
Chile's only DarkSky-certified place (Gabriela Mistral, Elqui Valley, 2015) is in the north, far from aurora latitudes.
Compiled from official government, road-authority and weather-service sources. Rules change; check them before you travel.