Leinster, IrelandMagnetic latitude 50.0°Population 22,288100 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Sandyford?
From Sandyford the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 6.3 or more), usually as a glow low in the north. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does. Since 1995 that level (Kp 6.3) was reached during darkness here on 156 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:42.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 2.7 expected, 6.3 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (1% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:42 to 06:39.
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 No · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 No · Kp 4
- 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 5 Unlikely · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Unlikely · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Unlikely · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 No · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 No · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 No · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 No · Kp 3
Friday 16 October — No · Kp 2.7 · Forecast cloud: 1%. · 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 19:18 local time
Unlikely
Best around 19:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 6.3), average cloud 1%.
- Dark enough
- 19:42 – 06:39
- Sunset
- 18:26 · sunrise 07:55
- Moon
- 32% · ↑ 14:46 · ↓ 21:00
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 6.3
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 4.7 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (354°)
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Sandyford
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 | -2° | 2° | 1,390 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | 0° | 4° | 1,168 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | 2° | 7° | 945 km |
| 5 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 5° | 12° | 723 km |
| 6 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 10° | 19° | 500 km |
| 7 | Visible to the north | 19° | 34° | 278 km |
| 8 | Visible to the north | 62° | 74° | 56 km |
| 9 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
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) camera in Sandyford Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
- Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) eye in Sandyford 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.
A noticeably darker area starts about 10 km to the south-south-west. 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 0.0°), 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 Sandyford
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 6.3 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 | 0.2% | 29% | 8.5 h | 11° / 16°C |
| October | 0% | 17% | 10.8 h | 9° / 13°C |
| November | 0% | 13% | 12.5 h | 7° / 10°C |
| December | 0% | 15% | 13.4 h | 5° / 8°C |
| January | 0% | 17% | 12.9 h | 4° / 7°C |
| February | 0% | 22% | 11.4 h | 4° / 8°C |
| March | 0.2% | 30% | 9.5 h | 4° / 9°C |
| April | 0% | 36% | 7.0 h | 6° / 11°C |
Aurora nights in Sandyford since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 6.3 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 6.7
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 8.7
- 3 December 2025 · Kp 6.7
- 12 November 2025 · Kp 7.3
- 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Dublin Airport (DUB) · 17 km
- Typical low / high in March
- 4° / 9°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 112 / 999
- Winter driving
- Irish law does not require winter tyres (legal minimum tread 1.6 mm; Gardaí recommend at least 3 mm in winter); check TII Traffic Info for national road conditions. Road conditions
- Access to land
- Ireland has no general right to roam: off public roads and rights of way, access to private (and state) land is at the landowner's discretion and can be withdrawn, though permissive access is common on waymarked trails and schemes like the Mountain Access Scheme.
- Weather service
- Met Éireann
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Sandyford?
From Sandyford the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 6.3 or more), usually as a glow low in the north. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Sandyford?
Face north (about 354° from true north). At Kp 6.3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 19° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
When is the aurora season in Sandyford?
Sandyford 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 Sandyford?
Strong sky glow washes out faint aurora. Head out of town for anything but a bright display. A noticeably darker area starts about 10 km to the south-south-west.
When was the aurora last possible in Sandyford?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Sandyford needs, during darkness, was 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0). It has happened on 156 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Sandyford share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Galloping Green 2 km
- Kilmacud 2 km
- Stepaside 3 km
- Ticknock 3 km
- Golden Ball 4 km
- Oldboleys 9 km
- Aurora 10 km
- Ballycoyle 11 km