Aurora Borealis in Pickering
Canada · 43.90°, -79.13° · geomagnetic 53.2° · needs Kp 7
Tonight's aurora forecast for Pickering
1%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Pickering needs Kp 7 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 5.0. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.
Get the full 30-night forecast in Revon
Updated 2026-09-08 10:35 UTC
Local aurora guide for Pickering
The aurora borealis is typically visible from Pickering when the geomagnetic activity reaches Kp 7 or higher. This level of activity is not frequent.
Pickering is located at 53.2° geomagnetic latitude. This means that auroral displays visible here are often less intense than those seen at higher latitudes.
On average, there are about 3.2 nights per year when conditions are suitable for aurora viewing. Patience and persistence are key for observers.
The best months for aurora viewing in Pickering are May, August, and September. These months offer a good balance of darkness and potential auroral activity.
During these months, the nights are long enough to potentially observe the aurora, provided other conditions are favorable.
Pickering experiences a Bortle 7 sky, indicating significant light pollution. This can make faint auroral displays difficult to see.
Areas with darker skies, such as Bortle 4 skies 53 km east-south-east or Bortle 5 skies 33 km east-north-east near Clarington, may offer better viewing conditions.
The horizon is marked by features such as Dicksons Hill to the west-north-west, Chalk Lake to the north-east, Windsor Lake to the north-west, Heise Hill to the west, and Blue Mountain to the north.
Notable terrain features near Pickering include Dicksons Hill, located 13.2 km west-north-west, and Heise Hill, 20.4 km west.
Lakes such as Chalk Lake to the north-east and Windsor Lake to the north-west are also present in the vicinity.
Blue Mountain, a significant mountain, is situated 28.1 km to the north of Pickering.
There have been 62 verified aurora reports within 300 km of Pickering between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2016.
The period from 2016 to 2026 has recorded several nights with significant geomagnetic activity, including Kp 7.0 on March 20, 2026, and Kp 8.67 on January 19, 2026, and November 11, 2025.
Sources: Revon location dataset · Revon analysis of NOAA planetary Kp · Falchi 2016 World Atlas of artificial night sky brightness · GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) · Aurorasaurus verified positive reports
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Pickering forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Pickering.