Central Denmark, DenmarkMagnetic latitude 52.9°Population 285,27310 m above sea level
Northern lights in Aarhus
Aarhus needs an active night: from about Kp 4.7 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows. Since 1995 that level (Kp 4.7) was reached during darkness here on 980 nights.
Right now
Activity is high enough for a camera right now: point your phone north, low over the horizon.
Measured activity in the last half hour: Hp30 5.3.
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, 4.7 needed here.
- Sky Partly cloudy (56% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 19:36 to 06:33.
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 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Unlikely · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Photos only · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Unlikely · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 Unlikely · 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 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
Friday 30 October — Good chance · Kp 5 · best around 23:30 · No cloud forecast this far ahead; in October about 42% of nights are clear here. · Reliability: low (rough trend)
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 21:44 local time
Unlikely
Best around 01:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 4.7), average cloud 56%.
- Dark enough
- 19:36 – 06:33
- Sunset
- 18:15 · sunrise 07:54
- Moon
- 33% · ↑ 15:42 · ↓ 20:23
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 4.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 3 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (358°)
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 | Fri, 21 | Sat, 00 | Sat, 03 | Sat, 06 | Sat, 21 | Sun, 00 | Sun, 03 | Sun, 06 | Sun, 21 | Mon, 00 | Mon, 03 | Mon, 06 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 11 °C | 11 °C | 9 °C | 8 °C | 9 °C | 9 °C | 9 °C | 9 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C |
| Feels like | 11 °C | 11 °C | 8 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 6 °C | 5 °C | 5 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C | 11 °C |
| Wind | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 5 m/s | 6 m/s | 6 m/s | 7 m/s | 4 m/s | 6 m/s | 7 m/s | 7 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 Aarhus
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 | 1° | 6° | 1,068 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 3° | 9° | 845 km |
| 4 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 7° | 15° | 623 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 13° | 24° | 400 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north | 30° | 47° | 178 km |
| 7 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
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 camera in Aarhus 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) eye in Aarhus 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).
Light pollution
City sky. City lights hide all but the brightest displays. Plan to leave the urban area.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the east-south-east. Open in OpenStreetMap
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
The horizon towards the north is open (terrain below 1.5°), so low aurora is not blocked.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Aarhus
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (5% of nights), followed by March (4%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 5% | 55% | 8.4 h | 11° / 17°C |
| October | 3% | 42% | 10.8 h | 7° / 13°C |
| November | 2% | 27% | 12.6 h | 4° / 8°C |
| December | 1% | 19% | 13.6 h | 1° / 4°C |
| January | 0.8% | 15% | 13.1 h | 0° / 3°C |
| February | 2% | 18% | 11.4 h | -1° / 3°C |
| March | 4% | 36% | 9.4 h | 0° / 6°C |
| April | 4% | 62% | 6.5 h | 3° / 11°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 29 May to 15 July — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Next new moon 9 November, next full moon 26 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Aarhus since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 5 June 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 15 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 3 April 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 6.7
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Aarhus Airport (AAR) · 30 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 11° / 17°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 112
- Winter driving
- There is no general winter tyre requirement, but since 1 July 2025 the Traffic Act requires tyres suited to current and expected road conditions, with fines of DKK 1,000 per tyre. Studded tyres are allowed from 1 November to 15 April. Road conditions are on the Danish Road Directorate's Trafikinfo. Road conditions
- Access to land
- Public forests are open 24 hours a day, but private forests and private uncultivated land may only be used on foot or by bike on suitable roads and paths from 6:00 until sunset, and you must stay more than 150 m from buildings. Beaches are open for walking and short stays, with no tents, and you must keep 50 m from dwellings on private beaches.
- Weather service
- DMI (Danish Meteorological Institute)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Aarhus?
Aarhus needs an active night: from about Kp 4.7 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Aarhus?
Face north (about 358° from true north). At Kp 4.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 13° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Aarhus?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Aarhus (5% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (4%).
When is the aurora season in Aarhus?
From 29 May to 15 July the sky in Aarhus never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Aarhus?
City lights hide all but the brightest displays. Plan to leave the urban area. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the east-south-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Aarhus?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Aarhus needs, during darkness, was 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0). It has happened on 980 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Aarhus share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Vestervang 1 km
- Aarhus C 1 km
- Frederiksbjerg 2 km
- Christiansbjerg 2 km
- Vejlby 4 km
- Høje Risskov 4 km
- Risskov 5 km
- Vejlby Fed 6 km
- Ørby 19 km