England, United KingdomMagnetic latitude 47.5°Population 46,280160 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Banstead?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 7.3 or more) bring the aurora into view from Banstead — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the north. Since 1995 that level (Kp 7.3) was reached during darkness here on 50 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:17.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 2.7 expected, 7.3 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (1% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:17 to 06:15.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 No · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 No · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 No · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 No · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 No · 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 No · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 No · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 No · 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 16 October — No · Kp 2.7 · Forecast cloud: 1%. · 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 17:28 local time
Unlikely
Best around 19:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 7.3), average cloud 1%.
- Dark enough
- 19:17 – 06:15
- Sunset
- 18:05 · sunrise 07:27
- Moon
- 32% · ↑ 14:06 · ↓ 20:51
- 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 for photos
- In photos: from Kp 5.7 (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 Banstead
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 | -4° | -1° | 1,668 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -2° | 1° | 1,446 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | -1° | 4° | 1,223 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | 1° | 7° | 1,001 km |
| 6 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 4° | 11° | 778 km |
| 7 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 8° | 17° | 556 km |
| 8 | Visible to the north | 16° | 29° | 334 km |
| 9 | Visible to the north | 43° | 60° | 111 km |
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 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) camera in Banstead 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 Banstead 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
Suburban sky. Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
Terrain is not modelled for this place.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Banstead
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
Activity of Kp 7.3 or more is too rare here for monthly odds to be meaningful. The table still shows how often nights are clear and dark.
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 0% | 61% | 8.9 h | 12° / 19°C |
| October | 0.2% | 44% | 10.8 h | 10° / 16°C |
| November | 0% | 37% | 12.5 h | 7° / 11°C |
| December | 0% | 36% | 13.1 h | 5° / 9°C |
| January | 0% | 37% | 12.8 h | 3° / 8°C |
| February | 0% | 38% | 11.4 h | 3° / 8°C |
| March | 0% | 43% | 9.5 h | 4° / 10°C |
| April | 0% | 58% | 7.3 h | 6° / 13°C |
Aurora nights in Banstead since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 7.3 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 8.7
- 12 November 2025 · Kp 7.3
- 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
- 10 October 2024 · Kp 8.7
- 16 September 2024 · Kp 7.3
- 11 May 2024 · Kp 7.7
- 10 May 2024 · Kp 9.0
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- London Gatwick Airport (LGW) · 19 km
- Typical low / high in May
- 8° / 16°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 999 / 112
- Winter driving
- Winter tyres are not legally required anywhere in the UK (minimum tread 1.6 mm); check Traffic Scotland (trafficscotland.org) for Scottish trunk roads and National Highways for England's motorways and major A-roads. Road conditions
- Access to land
- In Scotland the Scottish Outdoor Access Code gives access rights over most land and inland water at any time of day or night (including responsible wild camping), provided you act responsibly and keep away from buildings; in England and Wales the CRoW Act right of access covers only mapped open access land, on foot, and excludes camping and driving unless the landowner allows it.
- Official space-weather service
- Met Office Space Weather (incl. aurora forecast)
- Weather service
- Met Office
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Banstead?
Only severe geomagnetic storms (Kp 7.3 or more) bring the aurora into view from Banstead — a few nights per solar cycle, low in the north.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Banstead?
Face north (about 358° from true north). At Kp 7.3 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 16° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
When is the aurora season in Banstead?
Banstead 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 Banstead?
Noticeable sky glow. Bright displays are visible, but driving out of town makes a clear difference.
When was the aurora last possible in Banstead?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Banstead needs, during darkness, was 20 January 2026 (Kp 7.7). It has happened on 50 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Banstead share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Burgh Heath 2 km
- Nork 2 km
- North Looe 2 km
- Kingswood 3 km
- Great Burgh 3 km
- Tadworth 4 km
- Walton on the Hill 5 km
- Hogden Bottom 5 km