Aurora Borealis in Finnmark
Norway · 69.97°, 23.27° · geomagnetic 67.1° · needs Kp 3
Tonight in Finnmark
7%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Finnmark needs Kp 3 before anything clears the northern horizon, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 5.7 — comfortably over the line.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Finnmark
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Friday 7 Aug at 10%. 4 of the seven reach the Kp 3 that Finnmark needs, topping out at Kp 5.7. The 23 nights past the seven-day window move with the 27-day solar rotation and are updated daily in the app.
Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app
See all 30 nights for Finnmark
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Finnmark
96.4 nights a year, averaged across 10.0 years of records
| Storm level | Nights / year |
|---|---|
| Kp 4 | 83.4 |
| Kp 5 | 28.7 |
| Kp 6 | 9.3 |
| Kp 7 | 3.2 |
| Kp 8 | 1.2 |
NOAA planetary Kp, 2016-04-02 to 2026-03-30
You are inside the auroral oval
Finnmark sits far enough northern that quiet conditions are enough. What limits you here is cloud and moonlight, not geomagnetic activity.
Hours of true darkness, month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.7 | 9.8 | 5.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.5 | 12.0 | 13.5 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Polar night
For part of the winter the sun does not clear the horizon at all in Finnmark. Darkness is continuous rather than nightly, so the aurora borealis can appear in what the clock calls afternoon.
Nothing to see from April to September
Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Finnmark horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
Finnmark is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 6. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.
- 9 km east-north-east — around Alta → Bortle 4
- 9 km east-north-east — around Alta → Bortle 4
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, October, February and March came out ahead in Finnmark. 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 Finnmark viewing season.
- 11 Oct 2026
- 09 Nov 2026
- 09 Dec 2026
- 07 Jan 2027
- 06 Feb 2027
- 08 Mar 2027
Where it is close to a certainty
Alta is close enough to reach and return in a night — 0 km north — and needs only Kp 3.
| Finnmark | Alta | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 3 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 96.4 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 67.1° | 67.1° |
Confirmed reports from this area
122 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Finnmark 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 Finnmark
The display sits low on the northern 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 Finnmark.
- Naustneset — headland4.5 km east-north-east
- Kjeldeneset — headland5.0 km west
- Storvikkjerringa — hill5.1 km west
- Kalkneset — mountain5.3 km west-north-west
- Rafsbotn — fjord5.5 km north-north-east
- Andersbergan — hill6.0 km west
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Anywhere on the outskirts of Finnmark will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Quality Hotel Vica 2.5 km from the centre
- Park Hotell Alta As 2.5 km from the centre
- Thon Alta 0.2 km from the centre
- Scandic Alta 0.3 km from the centre
- Alta Igloo 0.8 km from the centre
- Thon Hotel Vica 1.6 km from the centre
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — confirm before booking
The last nights it was visible here
Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Finnmark and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-26 | Kp 3.0 |
| 2026-03-24 | Kp 5.0 |
| 2026-03-23 | Kp 5.0 |
| 2026-03-22 | Kp 6.67 |
| 2026-03-21 | Kp 6.0 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Aurora forecasts across Finnmark
All 1 places in Finnmark with a forecast page, and the Kp each one needs.
- AltaKp 3
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Finnmark forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Finnmark
Can you see the aurora borealis from Finnmark?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Finnmark had about 96.4 nights a year when the storm was strong enough and the sky dark enough at the same time.
What Kp index do you need to see the aurora borealis in Finnmark?
Kp 3. Finnmark sits at geomagnetic latitude 67.1°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 3.
When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Finnmark?
October, February and March. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From April to September the sky over Finnmark never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Finnmark?
The centre of Finnmark reads Bortle 6. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 9 km east-north-east around Alta. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Finnmark with reliable aurora borealis?
Alta, Norway — 0 km north. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 96.4 in Finnmark.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Finnmark.
- 🇳🇴 Tromsø - Norway169 km
- 🇸🇪 Kiruna - Sweden265 km
- 🇳🇴 Harstad - Norway294 km
- 🇫🇮 Rovaniemi - Finland399 km
- 🇫🇮 Tornio - Finland460 km
- 🇸🇪 Boden - Sweden465 km
- 🇳🇴 Bodø - Norway467 km
- 🇫🇮 Kemi - Finland474 km