Avannaata, GreenlandMagnetic latitude 73.6°Population 4,41311 m above sea level
Northern lights in Ilulissat
Ilulissat sits right under the auroral oval: on clear, dark nights the aurora is often overhead, even when activity is quiet. Clouds matter far more than the Kp number here.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 20:48.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Maybe — worth a look
- Solar activity Strong enough: Kp 2.7 expected, 0 needed here.
- Sky Partly cloudy (69% cloud) — look for gaps.
- Darkness Dark from 20:48 to 07:32.
What to do: Go somewhere dark around 00:00, give your eyes 15 minutes to adjust and look north-north-west, low over the horizon.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 Possible · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 Possible · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Sun 18 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Mon 19 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Good chance · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 Possible · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 Possible · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Good chance · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Good chance · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Good chance · Kp 3
Friday 16 October — Possible · Kp 2.7 · best around 21:30 · Forecast cloud: 67%. · Reliability: medium
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 12:45 local time
Excellent chance
Best around 00:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 0), average cloud 69%.
- Dark enough
- 20:48 – 07:32
- Sunset
- 18:40 · sunrise 09:42
- Moon
- 31%
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 0
- Look towards
- north-north-west (338°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Forecast cloud during tonight's darkness: 67% here. The clearest option within 100 km is about 100 km to the west, with 32%. Open in OpenStreetMap
MET Norway forecast at 24 points within 100 km, averaged over the dark hours. Check roads and conditions before driving.
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Ilulissat
Facing north-north-west. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 2 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 3 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 4 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 5 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 6 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south-south-east | – | – | – |
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 eye in Ilulissat 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) 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
Pristine dark sky. Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
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-north-west is open (terrain below 0.2°), 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 Ilulissat
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
March has been the best month (41% of nights), followed by September (40%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 40% | 43% | 5.6 h | 0° / 4°C |
| October | 40% | 40% | 10.4 h | -5° / -2°C |
| November | 33% | 33% | 13.9 h | -9° / -5°C |
| December | 35% | 35% | 15.6 h | -12° / -8°C |
| January | 34% | 34% | 14.6 h | -15° / -10°C |
| February | 40% | 40% | 11.5 h | -17° / -12°C |
| March | 41% | 41% | 7.8 h | -16° / -10°C |
| April | 12% | 33% | 1.1 h | -10° / -4°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 12 April to 30 August — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Midnight sun from 21 May to 22 July.
- Polar night from 2 December to 10 January: the sun stays below the horizon, giving the longest viewing windows.
- Next new moon 9 November, next full moon 26 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Ilulissat since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 17 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 3 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 22 February 2026 · Kp 5.3
Where to watch near Ilulissat
-
Ilulissat Icefjord Centre / boardwalk
Edge of town where a boardwalk leads to viewpoints over the iceberg-filled Icefjord. · about 2 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Sermermiut valley
Abandoned Inuit settlement site about 1.5 km south of town at the mouth of the Icefjord, away from streetlights. · about 2 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Holms Bakke
Hill above the Icefjord reachable on foot from town, giving an elevated view over the ice. · about 2 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Ilulissat lies about 200 km north of the Arctic Circle; on clear cold nights the aurora is often visible over the town.
- The season runs roughly late September to early April.
- There are no roads to other towns; guided night trips go out by foot, snowmobile or dog sled to escape the town lights.
- Walk the Icefjord trails in daylight first so you know the terrain before returning after dark.
- Ilulissat Icefjord is a UNESCO World Heritage Site; stay on marked trails.
Do not walk onto sea ice or approach the shoreline below icebergs; calving can create sudden waves.
Winter night temperatures are severe; carry a head torch and spare warm layers on trails.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Ilulissat Airport (JAV) · 3 km
- Typical low / high in March
- -16° / -10°C
- What to wear
- Arctic cold: wool base layers, insulated jacket and trousers, warm boots, hat and mittens. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 112
- Winter driving
- There are no roads connecting towns in Greenland (only within and around settlements, plus a few tracks to sheep farms in South Greenland), so aurora trips are on foot, by tour vehicle, snowmobile or dog sled from town; no national road-conditions service applies.
- Access to land
- There is no privately owned land in Greenland and the backcountry is unrestricted, so you may roam and camp freely as long as you keep away from houses; exceptions are protected areas (e.g. Taseralik in Ilulissat) and Northeast Greenland National Park, which requires a permit from the Greenland Government.
- Weather service
- DMI (Danish Meteorological Institute) – Greenland
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Ilulissat?
Ilulissat sits right under the auroral oval: on clear, dark nights the aurora is often overhead, even when activity is quiet. Clouds matter far more than the Kp number here.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Ilulissat?
Around Ilulissat the aurora is often right overhead. Start by facing north-north-west, but look up and all around — in strong storms it can fill the whole sky and even appear behind you.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Ilulissat?
Over 2005–2025, March gave the best odds in Ilulissat (41% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by September (40%).
When is the aurora season in Ilulissat?
From 12 April to 30 August the sky in Ilulissat never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Ilulissat?
Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
When was the aurora last possible in Ilulissat?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Ilulissat on 10 October 2026 (Kp 5.7) — 736 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Ilulissat share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Pitorqeq 1 km
- Eqi 10 km
- Nordre Huse 11 km
- Oqaatsut 14 km
- Ilimanaq 15 km