Aurora Borealis in Mo i Rana
Norway · 66.31°, 14.14° · geomagnetic 65.1° · needs Kp 3
Tonight in Mo i Rana
36%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Mo i Rana 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 Mo i Rana
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 36%. 4 of the seven reach the Kp 3 that Mo i Rana 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 Mo i Rana
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Mo i Rana
105.7 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
You are inside the auroral oval
Mo i Rana 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.4 | 10.0 | 6.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.2 | 8.9 | 11.8 | 13.1 |
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 Mo i Rana horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
Mo i Rana 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.
- 17 km east-south-east → Bortle 4
- 17 km east-south-east → 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, October and February came out ahead in Mo i Rana. 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 Mo i Rana 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
Bodø is close enough to reach and return in a night — 108 km north — and needs only Kp 3.
| Mo i Rana | Bodø | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 3 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 105.7 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 65.1° | 66.0° |
Confirmed reports from this area
37 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Mo i Rana 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 Mo i Rana
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 Mo i Rana.
- Naustflåget — cliff3.0 km north-north-east
- Nausthågen — hill3.0 km north-north-west
- Einhågen — hill3.0 km west-north-west
- Skjellbekkflåget — cliff3.2 km north-north-east
- Hansvolltjønnmoen — moor3.2 km north-east
- Engeneset — headland3.2 km north-north-west
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Anywhere on the outskirts of Mo i Rana will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Meyergarden Hotel 1.1 km from the centre
- Comfort Hotel Ole Tobias 1.1 km from the centre
- Holmen Hotell 1.1 km from the centre
- Scandic Meyergarden 0.4 km from the centre
- Rainbow Holmen 0.5 km from the centre
- Fjordgarden Mo 0.7 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 Mo i Rana 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 Mo i Rana forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Mo i Rana
Can you see the aurora borealis from Mo i Rana?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Mo i Rana had about 105.7 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 Mo i Rana?
Kp 3. Mo i Rana sits at geomagnetic latitude 65.1°, 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 Mo i Rana?
March, October and February. 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 Mo i Rana never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Mo i Rana?
The centre of Mo i Rana reads Bortle 6. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 17 km east-south-east. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Mo i Rana with reliable aurora borealis?
Bodø, Norway — 108 km north. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 105.7 in Mo i Rana.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Mo i Rana.
- 🇳🇴 Bodø - Norway108 km
- 🇳🇴 Harstad - Norway294 km
- 🇸🇪 Kiruna - Sweden314 km
- 🇳🇴 Levanger - Norway315 km
- 🇸🇪 Boden - Sweden344 km
- 🇸🇪 Östersund - Sweden349 km
- 🇸🇪 Piteå - Sweden352 km
- 🇸🇪 Skellefteå - Sweden358 km