Aurora Borealis in Mariestad
Sweden · 58.71°, 13.82° · geomagnetic 58.0° · needs Kp 5
Tonight in Mariestad
36%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Mariestad needs Kp 5, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 5.7. That is on the threshold rather than over it, so cloud and moonlight will decide the night.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Mariestad
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 36%. One of the seven reaches the Kp 5 that Mariestad needs: Sunday 2 Aug, 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 Mariestad
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Mariestad
21.7 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
Worth watching through the dark half of the year
Kp 5 is a moderate storm — not an everyday event, but common enough that a patient observer in Mariestad sees the aurora borealis most winters.
Hours of true darkness, month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.0 | 10.2 | 7.8 | 3.8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.5 | 9.5 | 11.6 | 12.5 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Nothing to see from May to August
Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Mariestad horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
Mariestad is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 3. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.
- 6 km north-west → Bortle 3
- 6 km north-west → Bortle 3
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, September, March and October came out ahead in Mariestad. 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 Mariestad 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
If you would rather plan a trip than wait for a storm, the nearest place with genuinely frequent aurora is Bodø, 954 km north in Norway.
| Mariestad | Bodø | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 5 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 21.7 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 58.0° | 66.0° |
Confirmed reports from this area
45 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Mariestad 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 Mariestad
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 Mariestad.
- Mariestadsfjärden — bay4.7 km north-north-west
- Dillö — island5.8 km west-north-west
- Onsö — island8.5 km west-north-west
- Viknäsudde — headland9.1 km west
- Märrudden — headland9.1 km west
- Fågelöviken — bay12.1 km north
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
The last nights it was visible here
Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Mariestad and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-24 | Kp 5.0 |
| 2026-03-23 | Kp 5.0 |
| 2026-03-22 | Kp 6.67 |
| 2026-03-21 | Kp 6.0 |
| 2026-03-20 | Kp 7.0 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Mariestad forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Mariestad
Can you see the aurora borealis from Mariestad?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Mariestad had about 21.7 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 Mariestad?
Kp 5. Mariestad sits at geomagnetic latitude 58.0°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 5. Storms that size occur about 28.7 nights a year.
When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Mariestad?
September, March and October. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From May to August the sky over Mariestad never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Mariestad?
The centre of Mariestad reads Bortle 3. The nearest sky at Bortle 3 is about 6 km north-west. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Mariestad with reliable aurora borealis?
Bodø, Norway — 954 km north. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 21.7 in Mariestad.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Mariestad.
- 🇸🇪 Skövde - Sweden35 km
- 🇸🇪 Lidköping - Sweden45 km
- 🇸🇪 Falköping - Sweden62 km
- 🇸🇪 Kristinehamn - Sweden69 km
- 🇸🇪 Motala - Sweden73 km
- 🇸🇪 Karlstad - Sweden77 km
- 🇸🇪 Karlskoga - Sweden79 km
- 🇸🇪 Kumla - Sweden89 km