Östergötland, SwedenMagnetic latitude 55.6°Population 3,32692 m above sea level
Northern lights in Svärtinge
Svärtinge needs an active night: from about Kp 3.3 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows. Since 1995 that level (Kp 4.7) was reached during darkness here on 920 nights.
Right now
Activity is high enough for a camera right now: point your phone north, low over the horizon.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Enough for a camera: Kp 2.7 expected, 1.7 needed for photos, 3.3 for the eye.
- Sky Overcast (100% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:14 to 06:09.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 Unlikely · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 Photos only · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 Unlikely · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 Photos only · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Photos only · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 Unlikely · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
Friday 23 October — Possible · Kp 4 · best around 00:00 · Forecast cloud: 81%. · 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 21:19 local time
Unlikely
Best around 21:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 3.3), average cloud 100%.
- Dark enough
- 19:14 – 06:09
- Sunset
- 17:47 · sunrise 07:36
- Moon
- 33% · ↑ 15:47 · ↓ 19:26
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 3.3
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 1.7 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (358°)
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Svärtinge
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 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 11° | 767 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 8° | 17° | 545 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 16° | 30° | 322 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 46° | 63° | 100 km |
| 6 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 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 camera in Svärtinge Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled next 24 h eye in Svärtinge 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) 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 15 km to the north-north-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 terrain rises to about 4° above the horizon towards the north. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 3.3 instead of Kp 3.3. A hilltop, shore or open field with a clear view to the north helps.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Svärtinge
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (8% of nights), followed by March (7%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 8% | 38% | 7.9 h | 9° / 17°C |
| October | 5% | 29% | 10.8 h | 5° / 10°C |
| November | 4% | 24% | 12.8 h | 1° / 4°C |
| December | 5% | 19% | 14.0 h | -4° / 0°C |
| January | 3% | 11% | 13.3 h | -6° / -1°C |
| February | 5% | 15% | 11.5 h | -6° / 0°C |
| March | 7% | 24% | 9.1 h | -3° / 4°C |
| April | 5% | 33% | 6.0 h | 1° / 10°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 16 May to 27 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 Svärtinge since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 15 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 3 April 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 2 April 2026 · Kp 5.0
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 6.7
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Norrköping Airport (NRK) · 15 km
Linköping City Airport (LPI) · 34 km - Typical low / high in September
- 9° / 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 1 December to 31 March, cars must use winter tyres (Alpine-marked or studded) with at least 3 mm of tread whenever winter road conditions apply. Studded tyres are allowed from 1 October to 15 April, and at other times when winter conditions apply or are expected. Trafikverket runs the road traffic information service. Road conditions
- Access to land
- Allemansrätten lets anyone walk and stay temporarily on others' land, including pitching a tent for a night or two, provided you don't disturb and don't destroy. It does not cover gardens next to homes, crops or grazing land, or motorised off-road driving. National parks and nature reserves can have stricter rules.
- Official space-weather service
- Swedish Institute of Space Physics (IRF), Kiruna: all-sky camera and IRF Aurora Alert app
- Weather service
- SMHI (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute)
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Svärtinge?
Svärtinge needs an active night: from about Kp 3.3 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Svärtinge?
Face north (about 358° from true north). At Kp 3.3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 16° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Svärtinge?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Svärtinge (8% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (7%).
When is the aurora season in Svärtinge?
From 16 May to 27 July the sky in Svärtinge never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Svärtinge?
Little artificial light. Faint displays are visible once your eyes have adapted. A noticeably darker area starts about 15 km to the north-north-west.
When was the aurora last possible in Svärtinge?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Svärtinge on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 920 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Svärtinge share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Svärtinge 2 km
- Sandviken 4 km
- Övre Ågelsjö 4 km
- Nedre Ågelsjö 4 km
- Solklint 6 km
- Sörsjön 9 km