G4Peak 23 May 2002 at 15:00 UTC

Northern Lights on 23 May 2002 (Kp 8.3): Where They Were Visible

Kp reached 8.3. At that level the edge of the auroral oval reaches about 49.8° magnetic latitude, so the aurora could be seen low on the horizon down to roughly 45.3°. Activity stayed at storm level (Kp 5 or more) for 12 hours.

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

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

Based on each place's Kp threshold (terrain included) and the Sun's position during each 3-hour Kp block.
Country	Places	Examples	Furthest from the pole
United States	198	Seattle, Portland, Tri-Cities, Boise	Bend
Canada	69	Vancouver, Surrey, Victoria, Burnaby	Sooke
Sweden	60	Stockholm, Uppsala, Örebro, Sollentuna	Lidköping
Finland	40	Helsinki, Espoon keskus, Vantaa, Turku	Raseborg
Norway	37	Oslo, Stavanger, Drammen, Lillestrøm	Grimstad
New Zealand	30	Christchurch, Wellington, Dunedin, Lower Hutt	Whanganui
Australia	24	Melbourne, Adelaide, Geelong, Hobart	Tuggeranong
Estonia	13	Tallinn, Narva, Kohtla-Järve, Maardu	Jõgeva
China	7	Daxing’anling, Jiagedaqi District, Genhe, Oroqen Zizhiqi	Jiagedaqi District
Kazakhstan	1	Astana	Astana

Only in photos

1,129 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.

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