Aurora Australis in Invercargill

New Zealand · -46.40°, 168.35° · geomagnetic -50.2° · needs Kp 9

Tonight in Invercargill

1%

Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Invercargill 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 Invercargill

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 Invercargill 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 3.0
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 Invercargill

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

How often the aurora australis reaches Invercargill

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, Invercargill 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
3.76.08.09.911.111.711.510.48.86.74.42.6

Solar declination and hour angle at −18°

Getting clear of the light

The sky over Invercargill reads Bortle 6. Getting clear of the built-up area makes a visible difference on a marginal night.

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 Invercargill. 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 Invercargill viewing season.

Where it is close to a certainty

If you would rather plan a trip than wait for a storm, the nearest place with genuinely frequent aurora is Dunedin, 176 km east-north-east in New Zealand.

InvercargillDunedin
Kp needed99
Nights per year0.1 0.1
Geomagnetic latitude-50.2° -49.4°

See the Dunedin forecast

Confirmed reports from this area

10 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Invercargill 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 Invercargill

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 Invercargill.

Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)

Places to watch from

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

Places from OpenStreetMap contributors

Where to stay

Anywhere on the outskirts of Invercargill will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.

Places from OpenStreetMap contributors — confirm before booking

The last nights it was visible here

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

DatePeak
2024-05-10Kp 9.0

NOAA planetary Kp

Know when it is worth going outside

Revon watches the Invercargill 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 Invercargill

Can you see the aurora australis from Invercargill?

Rarely. Across 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Invercargill 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 Invercargill?

Kp 9. Invercargill sits at geomagnetic latitude -50.2°, 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 Invercargill?

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 Invercargill?

The centre of Invercargill reads Bortle 6. The nearest sky at Bortle 2 is about 16 km south-east around Waihopai Toetoe Community. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.

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

Dunedin, New Zealand — 176 km east-north-east. It needs only Kp 9 and averages 0.1 viable nights a year against 0.1 in Invercargill.

Nearby towns

Forecasts for places within reach of Invercargill.