Jilin, ChinaMagnetic latitude 40.4°Population 112,819148 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Taonan?
From Taonan the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 6 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the north. Strong enough for photos on 202 nights since 1995 — most recently on 10 October 2026.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 3.3).
Measured activity in the last half hour: Hp30 5.
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 2.7 expected, 6 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (90% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 18:04 to 05:04.
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 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 21 3 No · Kp 3
- 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 2 No · Kp 2
- 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 2 No · Kp 2
- Fri 6 3 No · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 No · Kp 3
Saturday 17 October — No · Kp 2.7 · Forecast cloud: 90%. · 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 03:54 local time
Unlikely
Best around 03:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 9+), average cloud 90%.
- Dark enough
- 18:04 – 05:04
- Sunset
- 17:00 · sunrise 06:08
- Moon
- 33% · ↑ 12:46 · ↓ 20:55
- 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 6 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (354°)
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 | Sat, 03 | Sat, 19 | Sat, 22 | Sun, 01 | Sun, 04 | Sun, 20 | Sun, 23 | Mon, 02 | Mon, 18 | Mon, 21 | Tue, 00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 5 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C | 10 °C | 10 °C | 6 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 11 °C | 9 °C | 9 °C |
| Feels like | 2 °C | 11 °C | 7 °C | 7 °C | 7 °C | 2 °C | 0 °C | -1 °C | 11 °C | 7 °C | 7 °C |
| Wind | 3 m/s | 2 m/s | 5 m/s | 6 m/s | 5 m/s | 5 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 5 m/s | 5 m/s |
Cloud layers and weather: MET Norway (CC BY 4.0).
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Taonan
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 | -9° | -7° | 2,458 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -7° | -5° | 2,235 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -6° | -4° | 2,013 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | -5° | -2° | 1,790 km |
| 6 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | -3° | 0° | 1,568 km |
| 7 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | -2° | 2° | 1,346 km |
| 8 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 0° | 5° | 1,123 km |
| 9 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 3° | 8° | 901 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 Taonan 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).
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 Taonan
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 0% | 80% | 9.1 h | 10° / 23°C |
| October | 0% | 82% | 10.9 h | 0° / 13°C |
| November | 0% | 79% | 12.0 h | -9° / 1°C |
| December | 0% | 89% | 12.6 h | -19° / -9°C |
| January | 0% | 89% | 12.4 h | -21° / -11°C |
| February | 0% | 89% | 11.4 h | -18° / -6°C |
| March | 0% | 81% | 9.9 h | -8° / 5°C |
| April | 0% | 70% | 8.1 h | 0° / 15°C |
Nights when Taonan could catch it in photos
Since 1995, nights with Kp 6 or more while it was dark here — a red or green glow low on the horizon.
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.3
- 8 August 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 4 July 2026 · Kp 6.7
- 5 June 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 4 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 3 April 2026 · Kp 6.3
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 21 January 2026 · Kp 6.3
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 8.7
- 3 December 2025 · Kp 6.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Baicheng Chang'an Airport (DBC) · 27 km
- Typical low / high in January
- -21° / -11°C
- What to wear
- Extreme cold: insulated boots, down jacket, two layers of wool, face protection, chemical hand warmers. Full clothing guide
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Taonan?
From Taonan the aurora is too low for the naked eye except in the most extreme storms, but in severe storms (about Kp 6 or more) cameras record a red glow low in the north.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Taonan?
Around Taonan the aurora is often right overhead. Start by facing north, 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 Taonan?
Taonan 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 Taonan?
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 Taonan share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Guangming 0 km
- Xinglong 1 km
- Taofu Jiedao 2 km
- Tongda Jiedao 2 km
- Yongkang Jiedao 2 km
- Fuwen 2 km
- Tuanjie 2 km
- Fushengcun 4 km
- Zengshengcun 4 km
- Dongbaxi Taobu 5 km
- Yanjiatun 6 km
- Wurihanzhao 6 km
- Baiyinhuazhao 7 km
- Wanglutun 7 km
- Ji’ancun 7 km
- Changlongcun 7 km
- Yuchengcun 7 km
- Daxian 8 km
- Dawujiahu 8 km
- Wangbaotun 8 km
- Lidiantun 8 km
- Baijicun 8 km
- Haolibao 8 km
- Xingjiancun 8 km
- Changgangcun 8 km
- Xiangyang Jiedao 8 km
- Qiguan Yingzi 9 km
- Hulicun 9 km
- Quanbaocun 9 km
- Wanfucun 9 km
- Fengmancun 10 km
- Zhangduotun 10 km
- Sanlicun 10 km
- Fanrongtun 10 km
- Deshunzhaocun 10 km
- Ershi Fangzi 10 km
- Deshuncun 10 km
- Jinguangcun 10 km
- Deshun 11 km
- Xiwu Jiazi 11 km