Aurora Australis in Australia

Australia · -41.79°, 146.79° · geomagnetic -48.7° · needs Kp 9

Tonight in Australia

1%

Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Australia needs Kp 9 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 4.0. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.

Tonight Mon 03 Aug
1%
18
20
22
00
02
04
06
Tomorrow Tue 4 Aug
1%
Hour-by-hour for this night is in the app
Wednesday Wed 5 Aug
1%
Hour-by-hour for this night is in the app

Unlock every hour in the app

Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC

The next 30 nights in Australia

Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Monday 3 Aug at 1%. Not one of the seven reaches the Kp 9 that Australia needs, which is normal rather than unlucky — it averages 0.1 viable nights a year. The 23 nights past the seven-day window move with the 27-day solar rotation and are updated daily in the app.

Quiet geomagnetic conditions ahead. No significant aurora activity expected this month.

Mon 3
1%
Kp 4.0
Tue 4
1%
Kp 2.6
Wed 5
1%
Kp 0.0
Thu 6
1%
Kp 3.0
Fri 7
1%
Kp 2.0
Sat 8
1%
Kp 2.0
Sun 9
1%
Kp 2.0

Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app

See all 30 nights for Australia

Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook

How often the aurora australis reaches Australia

0.1 nights a year, averaged across 10.0 years of records

Storm levelNights / year
Kp 483.4
Kp 528.7
Kp 69.3
Kp 73.2
Kp 81.2

NOAA planetary Kp, 2016-04-02 to 2026-03-30

Wait for an alert; do not book a week

At Kp 9, Australia needs a severe geomagnetic storm before anything shows above the southern horizon. Storms that size arrive a handful of times per solar cycle and announce themselves a day or two ahead. Watching for one beats picking dates and hoping.

Hours of true darkness, month by month

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
5.06.88.49.911.011.511.310.49.07.35.54.4

Solar declination and hour angle at −18°

Getting clear of the light

Australia is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 2. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.

Falchi 2016 World Atlas (DOI: 10.5880/GFZ.1.4.2016.001)

The months that actually deliver

Counting only nights that were both stormy enough and dark enough, May came out ahead in Australia. That is storm season and darkness overlapping — the equinoxes tend to be geomagnetically active, and the nights are already long by then.

Darkest nights of the coming year

A bright moon washes out a weak display as effectively as street lighting. These new moons fall inside the Australia viewing season.

Where it is close to a certainty

Hobart is close enough to reach and return in a night — 129 km south-south-east — and needs only Kp 9.

AustraliaHobart
Kp needed99
Nights per year0.1 0.1
Geomagnetic latitude-48.7° -49.7°

See the Hobart forecast

Confirmed reports from this area

8 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Australia between 2015-01-01 and 2016-12-31. Rare is not the same as impossible.

Aurorasaurus verified positive reports

Where the horizon opens up near Australia

The display sits low on the southern horizon, so what beats a better forecast is open ground facing that way. Height gets you above the town glow; water gives you an unbroken skyline. These are within a short drive of Australia.

Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)

Places to watch from

Named viewpoints and reserves near Australia that sit outside the worst of the light. Each puts the southern horizon over open ground instead of over rooftops.

Places from OpenStreetMap contributors

The last nights it was visible here

Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Australia and the sky was dark enough to show it.

DatePeak
2024-05-10Kp 9.0

NOAA planetary Kp

Aurora forecasts across Australia

All 1 regions in Australia with a forecast page, and the Kp each one needs.

Know when it is worth going outside

Revon watches the Australia forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.

Get aurora alerts on iPhone

Common questions about the aurora australis in Australia

Can you see the aurora australis from Australia?

Rarely. Across 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Australia averaged under one night a year where the storm was strong enough and the sky was dark enough at the same time.

What Kp index do you need to see the aurora australis in Australia?

Kp 9. Australia sits at geomagnetic latitude -48.7°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 9. Storms that size occur about 0.1 nights a year.

When is the best time of year to see the aurora australis in Australia?

May. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness.

Where can you escape the light pollution near Australia?

The centre of Australia reads Bortle 2. The nearest sky at Bortle 2 is about 6 km north-west. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.

Where is the nearest place to Australia with reliable aurora australis?

Hobart, Australia — 129 km south-south-east. It needs only Kp 9 and averages 0.1 viable nights a year against 0.1 in Australia.

Nearby towns

Forecasts for places within reach of Australia.