Utena County, LithuaniaMagnetic latitude 52.4°Population 6,051154 m above sea level
Northern lights in Zarasai
Zarasai needs an active night: from about Kp 5 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows. Since 1995 that level (Kp 5) was reached during darkness here on 672 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:30.
Magnetometer at Tartu (281 km away): low magnetic activity.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: FMI MIRACLE R-index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 2.7 expected, 5 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (95% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:30 to 06:31.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Sat 17 2.7 No · Kp 2.7
- Sun 18 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- Mon 19 2 No · Kp 2
- 27-day trend Tue 20 3 No · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Unlikely · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Photos only · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Unlikely · 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 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Possible · 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 30 October — Good chance · Kp 5 · best around 23:00 · No cloud forecast this far ahead; in October about 33% 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 11:56 local time
Unlikely
Best around 19:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 5), average cloud 95%.
- Dark enough
- 19:30 – 06:31
- Sunset
- 18:10 · sunrise 07:51
- Moon
- 38% · ↑ 15:33 · ↓ 21:29
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 5
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 3.3 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (0°)
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, 19 | Sat, 22 | Sun, 01 | Sun, 04 | Sun, 19 | Sun, 22 | Mon, 01 | Mon, 04 | Mon, 19 | Mon, 22 | Tue, 01 | Tue, 04 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 2% |
| Mid cloud | 14% | 20% | 13% | 12% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 0% | 16% | 95% | 89% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 5 °C | 4 °C | 4 °C | 5 °C | 6 °C | 3 °C | 2 °C | 1 °C | 6 °C | 5 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C |
| Feels like | 3 °C | 1 °C | 2 °C | 2 °C | 1 °C | -1 °C | -2 °C | -3 °C | 1 °C | 0 °C | -1 °C | -1 °C |
| Wind | 1 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s | 4 m/s |
| Visibility | 43 km | 39 km | 35 km | 30 km | 48 km | 46 km | 43 km | 35 km | 48 km | 48 km | 46 km | 46 km |
Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
Seeing it right now?
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What you would see from Zarasai
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 | 0° | 5° | 1,123 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | 3° | 8° | 901 km |
| 4 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 6° | 13° | 678 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 11° | 21° | 456 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north | 23° | 39° | 234 km |
| 7 | Visible to the north | 84° | 87° | 11 km |
| 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 Zarasai 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 Zarasai 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
Dark rural sky. Little artificial light. Faint displays are visible once your eyes have adapted.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the west-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 0.7°), 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 Zarasai
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (4% of nights), followed by April (3%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 4% | 52% | 8.4 h | 8° / 17°C |
| October | 2% | 33% | 10.8 h | 3° / 10°C |
| November | 0.5% | 17% | 12.6 h | 0° / 3°C |
| December | 0.6% | 13% | 13.6 h | -5° / -2°C |
| January | 0.2% | 9% | 13.1 h | -9° / -4°C |
| February | 0.8% | 11% | 11.4 h | -9° / -3°C |
| March | 2% | 26% | 9.4 h | -4° / 3°C |
| April | 3% | 51% | 6.5 h | 1° / 11°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 1 June to 12 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 Zarasai since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 5 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.3
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 18 August 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 8 August 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 5 June 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 15 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 4 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 20 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Vilnius International Airport (VNO) · 137 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 8° / 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
- From 10 Nov summer tyres are prohibited: vehicles up to 3.5 t need winter (studded or non-studded) or all-season tyres until 31 Mar; studded tyres must be removed by 10 Apr. Road conditions: eismoinfo.lt, the state road agency's traffic and road-weather map. Road conditions
- Weather service
- Lithuanian Hydrometeorological Service (LHMT)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Zarasai?
Zarasai needs an active night: from about Kp 5 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Zarasai?
Face north (about 0° from true north). At Kp 5 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 11° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Zarasai?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Zarasai (4% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by April (3%).
When is the aurora season in Zarasai?
From 1 June to 12 July the sky in Zarasai never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Zarasai?
Little artificial light. Faint displays are visible once your eyes have adapted. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the west-south-west.
When was the aurora last possible in Zarasai?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Zarasai needs, during darkness, was 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.3). It has happened on 672 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Zarasai share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Zarasų miesto sen. 1 km
- Petrūniškis 2 km
- Magučiai 2 km
- Ditkūnai 2 km
- Dimitriškės 2 km
- Magutiškės 2 km
- Jauneikiai 2 km
- Sarakiškės 2 km
- Meldutiškiai 2 km
- Bacioniškis 3 km
- Žardeliškiai 3 km
- Juodalaukiai 3 km
- Šlyninka 3 km
- Joniškis 3 km
- Vosyliškis 3 km
- Bartašiškės 3 km
- Palazdinė 3 km
- Raudondvaris 3 km
- Purveliškės 3 km
- Liaudiškiai 3 km
- Sasnauka 3 km
- Verteniškės 3 km
- Barauka 3 km
- Matuliškės 3 km
- Bernotiškės 3 km
- Pakalniškės 3 km
- Jakštiškės I 3 km
- Laukesa 3 km
- Štadviliai 4 km
- Smėlynė 4 km
- Minauka 4 km
- Piliakalnis 4 km
- Šiliniškės 4 km
- Liepalaukė 4 km
- Andriejūnai 4 km
- Gružtai 4 km
- Juodiškės 4 km
- Antaniškės 4 km
- Kavoliškės 4 km
- Tamuliškis 4 km