Aurora Borealis in Whitby
Canada · 43.88°, -78.93° · geomagnetic 53.2° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Whitby
1%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Whitby needs Kp 7 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 5.1. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Whitby
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 1%. Not one of the seven reaches the Kp 7 that Whitby needs, which is normal rather than unlucky — it averages 3.2 viable nights a year. 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
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Whitby
3.2 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
Wait for an alert; do not book a week
At Kp 7, Whitby needs a severe geomagnetic storm before anything shows above the northern horizon. Storms that size arrive a handful of times per solar cycle and announce themselves a day or two ahead. Watching for one beats picking dates and hoping.
Hours of true darkness, month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.3 | 10.3 | 9.0 | 7.1 | 5.1 | 3.8 | 4.4 | 6.3 | 8.3 | 9.9 | 11.1 | 11.6 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Getting clear of the light
The sky over Whitby reads Bortle 6. Getting clear of the built-up area makes a visible difference on a marginal night.
- 20 km north-east — around Clarington → Bortle 5
- 38 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, May, September and August came out ahead in Whitby. 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 Whitby viewing season.
- 13 Aug 2026
- 11 Sep 2026
- 11 Oct 2026
- 09 Nov 2026
- 09 Dec 2026
- 07 Jan 2027
- 06 Feb 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 Nuuk, 2,827 km north-north-east in Greenland.
| Whitby | Nuuk | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 3 |
| Nights per year | 3.2 | 171.4 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 53.2° | 72.6° |
Confirmed reports from this area
69 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Whitby 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 Whitby
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 Whitby.
- Samac Lake — lake7.8 km north-north-east
- Chalk Lake — lake17.9 km north-north-west
- West Beach — beach21.1 km east
- Port Darlington — bay21.4 km east
- East Beach — beach22.3 km east
- Dicksons Hill — hill29.0 km west-north-west
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Anywhere on the outskirts of Whitby will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Residence & Conference Centre - Oshawa 7.1 km from the centre
- Knights Inn Oshawa 7.9 km from the centre
- Quality Hotel & Conference Centre 9.1 km from the centre
- Quality Hotel & Conference Center Oshawa 9.2 km from the centre
- Quality Hotel & Conference Centre Oshawa 9.2 km from the centre
- Holiday Inn Express Whitby Oshawa 1.7 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 Whitby and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-20 | Kp 7.0 |
| 2026-01-20 | Kp 7.67 |
| 2026-01-19 | Kp 8.67 |
| 2025-11-12 | Kp 7.33 |
| 2025-11-11 | Kp 8.67 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Whitby forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Whitby
Can you see the aurora borealis from Whitby?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Whitby had about 3.2 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 Whitby?
Kp 7. Whitby sits at geomagnetic latitude 53.2°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 7. Storms that size occur about 3.2 nights a year.
When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Whitby?
May, September and August. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Whitby?
The centre of Whitby reads Bortle 6. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 38 km east-south-east. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Whitby with reliable aurora borealis?
Nuuk, Greenland — 2,827 km north-north-east. It needs only Kp 3 and averages 171.4 viable nights a year against 3.2 in Whitby.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Whitby.