England, United KingdomMagnetic latitude 48.1°Population 53,47768 m above sea level
Can you see the northern lights in Braintree, England?
From Braintree the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 7 or more), usually as a glow low in the north. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does. Since 1995 that level (Kp 7) was reached during darkness here on 72 nights.
Right now
Quiet right now (Kp 0.0).
Latest measured half-hour activity worldwide: Hp30 0.3.
Updates every minute while this page is open. Ground data: GFZ Potsdam Hp30 index (CC BY 4.0).
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 2 expected, 7 needed here.
- Sky Overcast (94% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:08 to 06:17.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
Monday 19 October — No · Kp 2 · Forecast cloud: 94%. · 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 05:24 local time
Unlikely
Best around 05:00. Forecast max Kp 2.0 (this place needs 7), average cloud 94%.
- Dark enough
- 19:08 – 06:17
- Sunset
- 17:55 · sunrise 07:30
- Moon
- 55% · ↑ 15:37 · ↓ 00:14
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 5.3 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (358°)
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 | Mon, 05 | Mon, 20 | Mon, 23 | Tue, 02 | Tue, 05 | Tue, 20 | Tue, 23 | Wed, 02 | Wed, 05 | Wed, 20 | Wed, 23 | Thu, 02 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low cloud | 54% | 60% | 55% | 48% | 38% | 48% | 24% | 10% | 11% | 26% | 29% | 31% |
| Mid cloud | 24% | 26% | 37% | 48% | 59% | 61% | 93% | 91% | 36% | 10% | 75% | 95% |
| High cloud | 0% | 59% | 51% | 46% | 48% | 100% | 100% | 88% | 30% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Temperature | 10 °C | 12 °C | 12 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 10 °C | 9 °C | 10 °C | 9 °C | 8 °C |
| Feels like | 10 °C | 12 °C | 12 °C | 13 °C | 12 °C | 12 °C | 11 °C | 8 °C | 7 °C | 10 °C | 6 °C | 5 °C |
| Wind | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 5 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 4 m/s | 3 m/s | 3 m/s | 6 m/s | 7 m/s |
Cloud layers and weather: Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
Weather in Braintree
The aurora only shows through clear skies, so the weather matters as much as the Kp index. Here is the general forecast for Braintree: temperature, wind and the chance of rain for the coming days.
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What you would see from Braintree
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 | -3° | 0° | 1,601 km |
| 3 | Below the horizon | -2° | 2° | 1,379 km |
| 4 | Below the horizon | 0° | 4° | 1,156 km |
| 5 | Below the horizon | 2° | 8° | 934 km |
| 6 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 5° | 12° | 712 km |
| 7 | Visible to the north | 10° | 20° | 489 km |
| 8 | Visible to the north | 20° | 35° | 267 km |
| 9 | Visible to the north | 67° | 77° | 44 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 next 24 h 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 Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) camera in Braintree 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) eye in Braintree 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
Rural to suburban. Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out.
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 Braintree
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
October has been the best month (1% of nights), followed by September (1%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 0.5% | 71% | 8.8 h | 12° / 19°C |
| October | 0.8% | 63% | 10.8 h | 10° / 15°C |
| November | 0.2% | 59% | 12.5 h | 6° / 11°C |
| December | 0% | 55% | 13.1 h | 4° / 8°C |
| January | 0.2% | 56% | 12.8 h | 3° / 7°C |
| February | 0% | 54% | 11.4 h | 3° / 8°C |
| March | 0.3% | 59% | 9.5 h | 4° / 10°C |
| April | 0.2% | 69% | 7.3 h | 5° / 13°C |
Aurora nights in Braintree since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 20 January 2026 · Kp 7.7
- 19 January 2026 · Kp 8.7
- 12 November 2025 · Kp 7.3
- 11 November 2025 · Kp 8.7
- 29 September 2025 · Kp 7.0
- 10 October 2024 · Kp 8.7
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- London Stansted Airport (STN) · 22 km
- Typical low / high in October
- 10° / 15°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 Braintree?
From Braintree the aurora is seen only during geomagnetic storms (about Kp 7 or more), usually as a glow low in the north. Cameras often pick it up before the eye does.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Braintree?
Face north (about 358° from true north). At Kp 7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 10° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Braintree?
Over 2005–2025, October gave the best odds in Braintree (1% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by September (1%).
When is the aurora season in Braintree?
Braintree 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 Braintree?
Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out.
When was the aurora last possible in Braintree?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Braintree needs, during darkness, was 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0). It has happened on 72 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Braintree share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Rayne 2 km
- Bocking Churchstreet 2 km
- Great Notley 2 km
- Galley's Corner 2 km
- Bocking 2 km
- Panfield 3 km
- Cressing 3 km
- Black Notley 3 km
- Great Notley 3 km
- Panfield 3 km
- Black Notley 3 km
- Tye Green 3 km
- High Garrett 3 km
- Long Green 3 km
- Row Green 3 km
- Cressing 4 km
- Rayne 4 km
- Bartholomew Green 4 km
- Young's End 4 km
- Hawbush Green 4 km
- Little Common 4 km
- Lanham Green 4 km
- Stisted 5 km
- Bradwell 5 km
- Braintree District 5 km
- Bradwell 5 km
- Stisted 5 km
- White Notley 5 km
- Willows Green 5 km
- Rank's Green 5 km
- Jasper's Green 5 km
- Molehill Green 5 km
- Pattiswick 6 km
- Great Saling 6 km
- Great Leighs 6 km
- Felsted 6 km
- Shalford 6 km
- Great Saling 6 km
- Church End 6 km
- Gubbion's Green 6 km