West Coast Region, New ZealandMagnetic latitude 50.8°779 m above sea level
Can you see the southern lights in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 7.3 or more) bring the aurora into view from Aoraki/Mount Cook Village — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the south-south-west. Since 1995 that level (Kp 7.3) was reached during darkness here on 49 nights.
Right now
The solar wind is picking up — activity may jump within the hour. Keep this page open.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 3.7 expected, 7.3 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (81% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 21:19 to 05:28. A bright moon (84%) washes out faint displays.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Friday 23 October — No · Kp 3.7 · Forecast cloud: 81%. · 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 23:02 local time
Unlikely
Best around 23:00. Forecast max Kp 3.7 (this place needs 7.3), average cloud 81%.
- Dark enough
- 21:19 – 05:28
- Sunset
- 20:12 · sunrise 06:35
- Moon
- 84% · ↑ 16:51 · ↓ 04:53
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 7.3 (Kp 5.7 with an open horizon)
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 5.7 (a red glow low in the south-south-west).
- Look towards
- south-south-west (194°)
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 | Thu, 23 | Fri, 02 | Fri, 05 | Fri, 23 | Sat, 02 | Sat, 05 | Sat, 23 | Sun, 02 | Sun, 05 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 57% | 22% | 6% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 64% | 64% | 87% |
| Mid cloud | 32% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| High cloud | 15% | 0% | 0% | 8% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 6% | 34% |
| Temperature | 3 °C | 2 °C | 2 °C | 6 °C | 4 °C | 3 °C | 3 °C | 1 °C | 1 °C |
| Feels like | 3 °C | 2 °C | 2 °C | 5 °C | 3 °C | 2 °C | 0 °C | -2 °C | -2 °C |
| Wind | 1 m/s | 1 m/s | 0 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 2 m/s | 3 m/s | 2 m/s |
Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Forecast cloud during tonight's darkness: 82% here. The clearest option within 100 km is about 60 km to the east, with 2%. 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
Weather in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Aoraki/Mount Cook Village: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
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What you would see from Aoraki/Mount Cook Village
Facing south-south-west. 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° | 3° | 1,301 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | 1° | 5° | 1,079 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | 3° | 9° | 856 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | 6° | 14° | 634 km |
| 6 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 12° | 24° | 411 km |
| 7 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 28° | 45° | 189 km |
| 8 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 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 Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active next 24 h 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) camera in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village 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 Aoraki/Mount Cook Village 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 terrain rises to about 34° above the horizon towards the south-south-west. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 7.3 instead of Kp 5.7. A hilltop, shore or open field with a clear view to the south-south-west helps.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
May has been the best month (1% of nights), followed by August (0%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March | 0.2% | 71% | 9.5 h | 5° / 14°C |
| April | 0% | 69% | 11.0 h | 3° / 11°C |
| May | 0.8% | 68% | 12.0 h | 1° / 7°C |
| June | 0.2% | 72% | 12.8 h | -2° / 4°C |
| July | 0% | 68% | 12.4 h | -3° / 3°C |
| August | 0.3% | 67% | 11.5 h | -1° / 5°C |
| September | 0.2% | 64% | 9.9 h | -1° / 7°C |
| October | 0.3% | 60% | 8.5 h | 1° / 9°C |
Aurora nights in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 7.3 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.3
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 12 November 2025 · Kp 7.7
- 1 June 2025 · Kp 7.7
- 16 April 2025 · Kp 7.3
- 11 October 2024 · Kp 7.7
- 10 October 2024 · Kp 7.7
- 12 August 2024 · Kp 8.0
Where to watch near Aoraki/Mount Cook Village
-
White Horse Hill Campground
Open valley floor at the start of the Hooker Valley Track, away from village lights. · about 2 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Kea Point
Lookout at the end of an easy track from White Horse Hill with a wide view up the Hooker Valley. · about 2 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Lake Pukaki shore (information centre)
Lakeside lookout at the south end of Lake Pukaki with a more open southern horizon than the enclosed valley. · about 55 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- The village lies within the Aoraki Mackenzie International Dark Sky Reserve, one of the darkest skies in New Zealand.
- Guided outdoor stargazing runs from The Hermitage hotel, with a planetarium show as a back-up on cloudy nights.
- High mountains surround the village, so the southern horizon is partly blocked; aurora needs to be fairly strong to rise above the peaks.
- Weather changes quickly in the alpine valley; check the forecast and carry warm, waterproof layers.
- Mount Cook Village is a dead end at the top of State Highway 80, about an hour's drive from Lake Tekapo.
Check DOC track and avalanche advisories at the Aoraki/Mount Cook visitor centre before walking any track at night in winter or spring.
Carry a head torch and tell someone your plans; there is no mobile coverage on parts of the valley tracks.
Practical information
- Typical low / high in May
- 1° / 7°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 111 (free, works from mobiles without credit); 105 for non-emergency Police
- Winter driving
- NZTA advises anyone crossing alpine passes or travelling in the south and inland South Island in winter to carry chains and know how to fit them; from winter 2026 Queenstown Lakes District Council can fine drivers $750 for not fitting chains on council roads when 'chains required' signs are shown. Check NZTA Journey Planner for closures and 'chains essential' notices. Road conditions
- Access to land
- Freedom camping is allowed on DOC public conservation land unless a site is prohibited or restricted; scenic/recreation reserves are closed to it unless DOC provides a campsite, some sites are self-contained-vehicle only (from 7 June 2026 a green warrant card must be displayed), and breaches can be fined.
- Weather service
- MetService (Meteorological Service of New Zealand)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 7.3 or more) bring the aurora into view from Aoraki/Mount Cook Village — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the south-south-west.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village?
Around Aoraki/Mount Cook Village the aurora is often right overhead. Start by facing south-south-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 Aoraki/Mount Cook Village?
Over 2005–2025, May gave the best odds in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village (1% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by August (0%).
When is the aurora season in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village?
Aoraki/Mount Cook Village 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 Aoraki/Mount Cook Village?
Almost no artificial light: faint aurora and the Milky Way are easy to see.
When was the aurora last possible in Aoraki/Mount Cook Village?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Aoraki/Mount Cook Village needs, during darkness, was 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.3). It has happened on 49 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Aoraki/Mount Cook Village share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Mount Cook Village 1 km
- Glentanner 19 km
- Franz Josef 39 km