Aurora Borealis in Trondheim
Norway · 63.43°, 10.40° · geomagnetic 63.0° · needs Kp 3
Tonight in Trondheim
39%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Trondheim 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 Trondheim
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 39%. 4 of the seven reach the Kp 3 that Trondheim 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 Trondheim
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Trondheim
115.6 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
Trondheim 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 | 7.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 5.4 | 9.2 | 11.7 | 12.8 |
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 Trondheim horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
With 212,660 people around you, the sky over central Trondheim is Bortle 6. The glow hides anything but the brightest display, so the drive out matters more here than the forecast does.
- 11 km north-west — around Indre Fosen → Bortle 5
- 21 km west-north-west — around Indre Fosen → 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 Trondheim. 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 Trondheim 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, 466 km north-north-east in Norway.
| Trondheim | Bodø | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 3 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 115.6 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 63.0° | 66.0° |
Confirmed reports from this area
284 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Trondheim 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 Trondheim
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 Trondheim.
- Tåa — hill3.0 km west-north-west
- Våttakammen — peak3.1 km west-north-west
- Kollen — hill3.1 km west
- Høvringen — headland3.3 km west-north-west
- Ringve botaniske hage — park3.4 km east-north-east
- Østmarkneset — headland4.0 km north-east
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
What to do with the daylight
Aurora watching is a night job, and in winter that leaves a short, bright day to fill. Trondheim keeps its fortified past above ground, at Kristiansten, Kristiansten Fortress and Vassfjellet TV Mast, and for a day when the cloud sits low, Trondheim Science Centre are indoors and near by.
Keep the daylight loose: the sky decides the evening, and the forecast can turn within a few hours.
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Staying central in Trondheim is fine for everything except the aurora itself — you will still need to drive out. If seeing it matters more than convenience, base yourself on the edge of town facing your dark spot.
- Scandic Residence Trondheim 0.0 km from the centre
- Quality Augustin 0.1 km from the centre
- Thon Hotel Trondheim 0.1 km from the centre
- Quality St.Augustin 0.1 km from the centre
- Scandic Hotel Prinsen 0.2 km from the centre
- City Living Scholler 0.2 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 Trondheim 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 Trondheim forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Trondheim
Can you see the aurora borealis from Trondheim?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Trondheim had about 115.6 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 Trondheim?
Kp 3. Trondheim sits at geomagnetic latitude 63.0°, 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 Trondheim?
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 Trondheim never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Trondheim?
The centre of Trondheim reads Bortle 6. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 21 km west-north-west around Indre Fosen. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Trondheim with reliable aurora borealis?
Bodø, Norway — 466 km north-north-east. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 115.6 in Trondheim.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Trondheim.
- 🇳🇴 Levanger - Norway57 km
- 🇳🇴 Kristiansund - Norway138 km
- 🇳🇴 Molde - Norway180 km
- 🇸🇪 Östersund - Sweden214 km
- 🇳🇴 Ålesund - Norway239 km
- 🇳🇴 Lillehammer - Norway257 km
- 🇳🇴 Gjøvik - Norway293 km
- 🇳🇴 Hamar - Norway295 km