Northern Lights in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Next chance in North Rhine-Westphalia

None of the next 20 nights looks active enough here: you need about Kp 7 by eye or Kp 5.3 for photos. Big storms usually show up 1–3 days ahead — this page updates by itself.

Place	Kp needed	Kp for photos	Look towards	Light pollution	Population
Bielefeld	7	5.3	N	Bright suburban sky	331,906
Kreisfreie Stadt Münster	7	5.3	N	Bright suburban sky	308,258
Minden	7	5.3	N	Bright suburban sky	82,879
Rheine	7	5.3	N	Suburban sky	76,491
Herford	7	5.3	N	Suburban sky	64,879
Bad Salzuflen	7	5.3	N	Rural to suburban	54,899
Ibbenbueren	7	5.3	N	Suburban sky	50,577
Gronau	7	5.3	N	Suburban sky	50,547
Bad Oeynhausen	7	5.3	N	Suburban sky	49,513
Bünde	7	5.3	N	Suburban sky	46,365
Lemgo	7	5.3	N	Dark rural sky	41,943
Löhne-Ort	7	5.3	N	Dark rural sky	39,521
Warendorf	7	5.3	N	Rural to suburban	38,707
Ahaus	7	5.3	N	Suburban sky	38,165
Coesfeld	7	5.3	N	Suburban sky	36,631
Porta Westfalica	7	5.3	N	Dark rural sky	36,364
Emsdetten	7	5.3	N	Suburban sky	35,582
Greven	7	5.3	N	Rural to suburban	35,080
Lage	7	5.3	N	Rural to suburban	35,054
Steinfurt	7	5.3	N	Rural to suburban	34,601
Petershagen	7	5.3	N	Pristine dark sky	27,090
Lübbecke	7	5.3	N	Pristine dark sky	26,815
Espelkamp	7	5.3	N	Dark rural sky	26,378
Essen	7.3	5.7	N	City sky	593,085
Dortmund	7.3	5.7	N	City sky	588,462
lsjbot Duisburg	7.3	5.7	N	City sky	504,358
Bochum	7.3	5.7	N	City sky	385,729
Gelsenkirchen	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	270,028
Krefeld	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	237,984
Oberhausen	7.3	5.7	N	City sky	219,176
Hagen	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	198,972
Hamm	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	178,967
Mülheim	7.3	5.7	N	City sky	173,050
Herne	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	172,108
Paderborn	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	142,161
Recklinghausen	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	122,438
Bottrop	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	119,909
Moers	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	103,487
Gütersloh	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	96,180
Iserlohn	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	91,811
Witten	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	91,808
Marl	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	91,398
Lünen	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	91,009
Velbert	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	87,669
Dorsten	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	79,981
Castrop-Rauxel	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	77,924
Gladbeck	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	75,499
Arnsberg	7.3	5.7	N	Pristine dark sky	74,879
Wattenscheid	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	73,965
Bocholt	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	73,943
Detmold	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	73,680
Lippstadt	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	67,219
Dinslaken	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	66,993
Unna	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	66,734
Herten	7.3	5.7	N	Bright suburban sky	65,306
Wesel	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	61,685
Hattingen	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	56,866
Ahlen	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	55,280
Menden	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	52,452
Bergkamen	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	52,329
Schwerte	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	50,399
Kleve	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	49,072
Soest	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	48,037
Dülmen	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	47,495
Rheda-Wiedenbrück	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	46,123
Kamen	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	45,927
Borken	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	40,876
Kamp-Lintfort	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	39,490
Haltern am See	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	38,142
Beckum	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	37,814
Hemer	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	37,502
Datteln	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	36,338
Voerde	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	35,661
Kempen	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	34,105
Geldern	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	34,013
Goch	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	33,706
Höxter	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	32,713
Meschede	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	32,224
Rheinberg	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	32,188
Werl	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	32,149
Emmerich	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	31,829
Werne	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	30,810
Oer-Erkenschwick	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	30,409
Waltrop	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	30,220
Rietberg	7.3	5.7	N	Dark rural sky	30,055
Delbrück	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	29,884
Oelde	7.3	5.7	N	Dark rural sky	29,297
Wetter	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	29,146
Warstein	7.3	5.7	N	Dark rural sky	28,532
Neukirchen-Vluyn	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	28,110
Kevelaer	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	28,064
Dorstfeld	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	27,655
Selm	7.3	5.7	N	Dark rural sky	27,540
Hamminkeln	7.3	5.7	N	Dark rural sky	27,433
Brilon	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	27,030
Sprockhövel	7.3	5.7	N	Rural to suburban	26,400
Herdecke	7.3	5.7	N	Suburban sky	25,618
Köln	7.7	6	N	City sky	1,024,621
Düsseldorf	7.7	6	N	City sky	618,685
Wuppertal	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	360,797
Mönchengladbach	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	261,742
Solingen	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	164,359
Leverkusen	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	162,738
Neuss	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	152,457
Remscheid	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	117,118
Siegen	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	107,242
Bergisch Gladbach	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	106,184
Ratingen	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	91,606
Lüdenscheid	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	79,386
Viersen	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	76,153
Grevenbroich	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	64,779
Kerpen	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	64,226
Dormagen	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	63,582
Bergheim	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	63,558
Langenfeld	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	59,112
Hilden	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	56,565
Eschweiler	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	55,778
Meerbusch	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	54,826
Hürth	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	54,678
Pulheim	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	53,762
Gummersbach	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	53,131
Frechen	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	52,309
Willich	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	51,843
Neubrück	7.7	6	N	Rural to suburban	51,109
Erkrath	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	47,815
Herzogenrath	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	47,381
Alsdorf	7.7	6	N	Rural to suburban	46,340
Erkelenz	7.7	6	N	Rural to suburban	44,650
Brühl	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	44,137
Monheim am Rhein	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	43,038
Nettetal	7.7	6	N	Rural to suburban	42,417
Kaarst	7.7	6	N	Rural to suburban	42,112
Heinsberg	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	41,505
Hückelhoven	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	39,828
Mettmann	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	39,550
Würselen	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	37,074
Wermelskirchen	7.7	6	N	Rural to suburban	36,816
Wesseling	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	35,665
Jülich	7.7	6	N	Bright suburban sky	33,911
Korschenbroich	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	33,406
Gevelsberg	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	32,664
Ennepetal	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	32,607
Kreuztal	7.7	6	N	Dark rural sky	31,772
Lohmar	7.7	6	N	Rural to suburban	31,339
Tönisvorst	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	30,296
Schwelm	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	30,235
Haan	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	29,431
Geilenkirchen	7.7	6	N	Rural to suburban	28,334
Plettenberg	7.7	6	N	Dark rural sky	28,206
Lennestadt	7.7	6	N	Pristine dark sky	28,102
Wegberg	7.7	6	N	Dark rural sky	28,089
Leichlingen	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	28,078
Baesweiler	7.7	6	N	Rural to suburban	27,834
Heiligenhaus	7.7	6	N	Suburban sky	27,700
Sundern	7.7	6	N	Dark rural sky	27,654
Overath	7.7	6	N	Rural to suburban	27,203
Rösrath	7.7	6	N	Rural to suburban	26,868
Wiehl	7.7	6	N	Dark rural sky	26,291
Schmallenberg	7.7	6	N	Pristine dark sky	26,132
Olpe	7.7	6	N	Rural to suburban	25,686
Übach-Palenberg	7.7	6	N	Rural to suburban	25,544
Netphen	7.7	6	N	Dark rural sky	25,163
Bonn	8	6.3	N	Bright suburban sky	330,579
Aachen	8	6.3	N	Bright suburban sky	265,208
Düren	8	6.3	N	Suburban sky	93,440
Troisdorf	8	6.3	N	Bright suburban sky	74,749
Stolberg	8	6.3	N	Suburban sky	57,684
Sankt Augustin	8	6.3	N	Bright suburban sky	56,094
Euskirchen	8	6.3	N	Suburban sky	54,889
Erftstadt	8	6.3	N	Rural to suburban	51,207
Bornheim	8	6.3	N	Suburban sky	48,523
Hennef	8	6.3	N	Suburban sky	48,002
Königswinter	8	6.3	N	Suburban sky	41,164
Siegburg	8	6.3	N	Suburban sky	39,135
Niederkassel	8	6.3	N	Suburban sky	36,480
Mechernich	8	6.3	N	Rural to suburban	27,537
Rheinbach	8	6.3	N	Suburban sky	26,262
Meckenheim	8	6.3	N	Suburban sky	25,515
Bad Honnef	8	6.3	N	Suburban sky	25,348

Best months in North Rhine-Westphalia

Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.

Activity of Kp 7 or more is too rare here for monthly odds to be meaningful. The table still shows how often nights are clear and dark.

All years Near solar maximum Near solar minimum

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 Bielefeld 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) eye in Bielefeld 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).

The town pages in this region also cover 6,252 villages and districts nearby.

Smaller places

AlfterKp 8
AlpenKp 7.3
AltenaKp 7.7
AnröchteKp 7.3
AschebergKp 7.3
AttendornKp 7.7
Bad BerleburgKp 7.7
Bad DriburgKp 7.3
Bad LaaspheKp 7.7
Bad LippspringeKp 7.3
Bad SassendorfKp 7.3
WünnenbergKp 7.3
BalveKp 7.7
BedburgKp 7.7
BergneustadtKp 7.7
BestwigKp 7.3
BeverungenKp 7.3
BillerbeckKp 7
BlombergKp 7
BönenKp 7.3
BrackelKp 7.3
BrakelKp 7.3
BrüggenKp 7.7
BurbachKp 8
BürenKp 7.3
BurscheidKp 7.7
DrensteinfurtKp 7.3
DrolshagenKp 7.7
EitorfKp 8
ElsdorfKp 7.7
EngelskirchenKp 7.7
EngerKp 7
EnnigerlohKp 7.3
ErwitteKp 7.3
FreudenbergKp 7.7
FröndenbergKp 7.3
GangeltKp 7.7
GescherKp 7
GesekeKp 7.3
GrefrathKp 7.3
HalleKp 7
HalverKp 7.7
HarsewinkelKp 7
HavixbeckKp 7
HiddenhausenKp 7
HilchenbachKp 7.7
HilleKp 7
HolzwickedeKp 7.3
HörstelKp 7
HövelhofKp 7.3
HückeswagenKp 7.7
HüllhorstKp 7
HünxeKp 7.3
IsselburgKp 7.3
JüchenKp 7.7
KaldenkirchenKp 7.7
KalkarKp 7.3
KallKp 8
Kapellen an der FleuthKp 7.3
KierspeKp 7.7
KirchhundemKp 7.7
KirchlengernKp 7
KirchlindeKp 7.3
KürtenKp 7.7
LangerweheKp 7.7
LengerichKp 7
LeopoldshöheKp 7
LichtenauKp 7.3
LindlarKp 7.7
LinnichKp 7.7
LotteKp 7
LüdinghausenKp 7.3
LügdeKp 7
LütgendortmundKp 7.3
MarienheideKp 7.7
MarsbergKp 7.3
MeinerzhagenKp 7.7
MengedeKp 7.3
MettingenKp 7
MöhneseeKp 7.3
MonschauKp 8
MorsbachKp 7.7
MuchKp 7.7
NeuenkirchenKp 7
NeuenradeKp 7.7
NeunkirchenKp 8
NideggenKp 8
NiederkrüchtenKp 7.7
NiederzierKp 7.7
NordkirchenKp 7.3
NörvenichKp 8
NottulnKp 7
NümbrechtKp 7.7
OchtrupKp 7
OdenthalKp 7.7
OerlinghausenKp 7
OlfenKp 7.3
OlsbergKp 7.3
OpladenKp 7.7
OstbevernKp 7
Preußisch OldendorfKp 7
RadevormwaldKp 7.7
RaesfeldKp 7.3
RahdenKp 7
ReckeKp 7
ReesKp 7.3
RhedeKp 7.3
RödinghausenKp 7
RuppichterothKp 7.7
RüthenKp 7.3
SalzkottenKp 7.3
SassenbergKp 7
SchalksmühleKp 7.7
SchermbeckKp 7.3
SchleidenKp 8
SchwalmtalKp 7.7
SendenKp 7.3
SendenhorstKp 7.3
SpengeKp 7
StadtlohnKp 7
SteinhagenKp 7
SteinheimKp 7.3
StraelenKp 7.3
TelgteKp 7
VelenKp 7.3
VerlKp 7.3
VersmoldKp 7
VlothoKp 7
VredenKp 7
WachtbergKp 8
WaldbrölKp 7.7
WarburgKp 7.3
WassenbergKp 7.7
WeezeKp 7.3
WeilerswistKp 8
WerdohlKp 7.7
WertherKp 7
WesterkappelnKp 7
WickedeKp 7.3
WickedeKp 7.3
WilnsdorfKp 8
WinterbergKp 7.7
WipperfürthKp 7.7
WülfrathKp 7.7
XantenKp 7.3
ZülpichKp 8
ZündorfKp 7.7