Aurora Borealis in Keflavík
Iceland · 64.00°, -22.56° · geomagnetic 68.8° · needs Kp 3
Tonight in Keflavík
42%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Keflavík 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 Keflavík
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 42%. 4 of the seven reach the Kp 3 that Keflavík 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 Keflavík
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Keflavík
113.3 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
Keflavík 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.3 | 10.1 | 7.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.2 | 9.2 | 11.8 | 12.9 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Nothing to see from April to August
Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Keflavík horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
Keflavík is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 5. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.
- 3 km east → Bortle 5
- 9 km west → 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, March, September and October came out ahead in Keflavík. 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 Keflavík viewing season.
- 11 Sep 2026
- 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
Akureyri is close enough to reach and return in a night — 282 km north-east — and needs only Kp 3.
| Keflavík | Akureyri | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 3 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 113.3 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 68.8° | 69.7° |
Confirmed reports from this area
244 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Keflavík 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 Keflavík
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 Keflavík.
- Hólmsberg — headland3.5 km north
- Gerðistangi — headland10.4 km east
- Garðskagi — lighthouse10.6 km north-west
- Garðskagi (historical) — lighthouse10.8 km north-west
- Vatnsleysuvík — bay18.3 km east
- Melshöfði — cape27.2 km east-north-east
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Anywhere on the outskirts of Keflavík will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Guesthouse 1X6 0.3 km from the centre
- Icelandair Hotel In Keflavik 0.3 km from the centre
- Nordic Guest House 0.3 km from the centre
- Icelandair Flughotel - Keflavik 0.5 km from the centre
- Hotel Keflavik 0.6 km from the centre
- Hotel Berg 0.6 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 Keflavík and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-30 | Kp 3.0 |
| 2026-03-29 | Kp 3.33 |
| 2026-03-28 | Kp 3.67 |
| 2026-03-27 | Kp 3.33 |
| 2026-03-26 | Kp 3.0 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Keflavík forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Keflavík
Can you see the aurora borealis from Keflavík?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Keflavík had about 113.3 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 Keflavík?
Kp 3. Keflavík sits at geomagnetic latitude 68.8°, 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 Keflavík?
March, September and October. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From April to August the sky over Keflavík never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Keflavík?
The centre of Keflavík reads Bortle 5. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 9 km west. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Keflavík with reliable aurora borealis?
Akureyri, Iceland — 282 km north-east. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 113.3 in Keflavík.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Keflavík.