Aurora Australis in New Zealand
2 places with a forecast · Kp 9 · updated daily
Aurora australis forecasts in New Zealand
Every place in New Zealand with a forecast page needs the same Kp 9 before the aurora australis clears its southern horizon. What differs is how often that lines up with real darkness: Dunedin averages 0.1 viable nights a year, Invercargill 0.1.
So this page is a directory rather than a forecast. Each of the 2 places below has its own page with tonight’s hourly odds, the next 30 nights, and the drive to darker sky that matters more than the forecast does.
Every place in New Zealand with a forecast
All 2 of them, with the Kp each one needs before the aurora australis clears its southern horizon. Lower is better.
- DunedinKp 9
- InvercargillKp 9
What the Kp number means
Kp grades the strength of a geomagnetic storm from 0 to 9. The higher it runs, the further from the pole the auroral oval spreads, so every place has a Kp at which the aurora australis first reaches it — that is the number beside each link above. Everywhere we forecast in New Zealand sits at Kp 9.
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the forecast for the exact spot you are standing in, anywhere in New Zealand, and pushes an alert when tonight’s odds clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora australis in New Zealand
Can you see the aurora australis in New Zealand?
Rarely. Not one of the 2 places in New Zealand with a forecast page averages a full viable night a year, Dunedin included.
Where in New Zealand is the aurora australis seen most often?
Dunedin. It needs Kp 9 and averages 0.1 viable nights a year, more than anywhere else in New Zealand we publish a forecast for. Further south is not automatically better: the closer a place is to the pole, the more of its summer never gets dark at all.
What Kp index do you need to see the aurora australis in New Zealand?
Kp 9, everywhere in New Zealand we publish a forecast for. The country is narrow enough in geomagnetic latitude that the threshold does not change across it.
Is there one aurora australis forecast for the whole of New Zealand?
No. What you can see depends on the sky above the spot you are standing in — how dark the night gets there, the cloud and the moon — not on a national average. The forecast is published per place, so open the page for where you will actually be.