AuroraMeteo

G1Peak 21 August 1989 at 18:00 UTC

Northern Lights on 21 August 1989 (Kp 5.3): Where They Were Visible

Kp reached 5.3. At that level the edge of the auroral oval reaches about 55.8° magnetic latitude, so the aurora could be seen low on the horizon down to roughly 51.3°. Activity stayed at storm level (Kp 5 or more) for 6 hours.

03579 G1 G3 Sun 20 Aug 18:00 UTC · Kp 1.67 Sun 20 Aug 21:00 UTC · Kp 1.67 Mon 21 Aug 00:00 UTC · Kp 2.00 Mon 21 Aug 03:00 UTC · Kp 1.33 Mon 21 Aug 06:00 UTC · Kp 1.00 Mon 21 Aug 09:00 UTC · Kp 1.00 Mon 21 Aug 12:00 UTC · Kp 3.33 Mon 21 Aug 15:00 UTC · Kp 4.00 Mon 21 Aug 18:00 UTC · Kp 5.33 Mon 21 Aug 21:00 UTC · Kp 5.00 Tue 22 Aug 00:00 UTC · Kp 4.33 Tue 22 Aug 03:00 UTC · Kp 3.33 Tue 22 Aug 06:00 UTC · Kp 3.33 Tue 22 Aug 09:00 UTC · Kp 2.67 Tue 22 Aug 12:00 UTC · Kp 1.33 Tue 22 Aug 15:00 UTC · Kp 1.33 Tue 22 Aug 18:00 UTC · Kp 1.33 Tue 22 Aug 21:00 UTC · Kp 1.33 Mon 21 AugTue 22 Aug
Kp 0–3 Kp 4 Kp 5–6 (G1–G2) Kp 7+ (G3+) Times in UTC; faded bars are forecasts.

Three-hourly Kp from GFZ, one day either side of the storm.

Where the aurora could be seen

789 towns on our list had enough activity while it was dark there. Cloud cover is not included.

Only in photos

1,460 more towns could have caught a faint red or green glow low on the horizon with a phone or camera.

Whether the aurora was actually seen also depended on the weather. Use this as a guide to where it was possible.

← 20 August 1989 · 23 August 1989 →