Aurora Australis in Dunedin

New Zealand · -45.87°, 170.50° · geomagnetic -49.4° · needs Kp 9

Tonight's aurora forecast for Dunedin

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Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Dunedin needs Kp 9 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 4.7. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.

Tonight Tue 08 Sep
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Get the full 30-night forecast in Revon

Updated 2026-09-08 10:35 UTC

Local aurora guide for Dunedin

Dunedin is located at -49.4° geomagnetic latitude. Auroras are typically visible at this latitude during intense geomagnetic storms, rated at Kp 9.

Based on historical data, there is an average of 0.1 nights per year suitable for aurora viewing in Dunedin. This suggests that sightings are rare events.

The best month for aurora viewing in Dunedin is May. This aligns with the darker months when the aurora is most likely to be observed.

Dunedin has a Bortle scale rating of 2, indicating very dark skies. Areas 14 km north of Dunedin also maintain a Bortle 2 rating.

Several viewpoints offer potential viewing locations, including Waterfall (2.7 km from Dunedin) and Signal Hill Lookout (3.8 km from Dunedin).

Coastal areas like Ocean Beach (3.0 km south-south-east Dunedin) and Saint Kilda Beach (3.8 km south Dunedin) provide open horizons towards the sea.

Waterfall, located 2.7 km from Dunedin, is a designated viewpoint. Baldwin Street, 3.6 km away, and Signal Hill Lookout, 3.8 km away, are also noted viewpoints.

Further afield, High View of bay and city is a viewpoint 4.8 km from Dunedin, and Karitai Viewpoint is 6.4 km away.

Reserves such as Fairfield Tavern Reserve (8.6 km from Dunedin) and Huriawa Historic Reserve (29.0 km from Dunedin) are also noted.

Between 2015 and 2016, 11 verified aurora reports were made within 300 km of Dunedin.

The period of record for aurora data in Dunedin spans from April 2, 2016, to March 30, 2026.

A notable qualifying night occurred on May 10, 2024, when the geomagnetic activity reached Kp 9.0.

Sources: Revon location dataset · Revon analysis of NOAA planetary Kp · Falchi 2016 World Atlas of artificial night sky brightness · OpenStreetMap contributors · GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) · Aurorasaurus verified positive reports

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Nearby towns

Forecasts for places within reach of Dunedin.