Aurora Borealis in Zealand
Denmark · 55.39°, 11.82° · geomagnetic 55.2° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Zealand
10%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Zealand needs Kp 7 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 5.7. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Zealand
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 10%. Not one of the seven reaches the Kp 7 that Zealand needs, which is normal rather than unlucky — it averages 2.5 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 Zealand
2.5 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, Zealand 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.8 | 10.3 | 8.2 | 5.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.2 | 7.1 | 9.6 | 11.5 | 12.2 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Nothing to see from May to July
Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Zealand horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
With 391,647 people around you, the sky over central Zealand is Bortle 5. The glow hides anything but the brightest display, so the drive out matters more here than the forecast does.
- 13 km north-north-west — around Ringsted Municipality → Bortle 5
- 38 km west-north-west — around Kalundborg Municipality → 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, September, November and August came out ahead in Zealand. 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 Zealand 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 Inverness, 1,011 km west-north-west in United Kingdom.
| Zealand | Inverness | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 5 |
| Nights per year | 2.5 | 28.7 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 55.2° | 59.8° |
Confirmed reports from this area
7 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Zealand 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 Zealand
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 Zealand.
- Biesbakke — hill10.6 km east
- Langesø — lake10.9 km north
- Sjælland — island13.2 km north-north-west
- Gyrstinge Sø — lake16.1 km north-north-west
- Bavnebakke — hill17.5 km west-north-west
- Lavringe Mose — moor22.9 km north-north-east
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
The last nights it was visible here
Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Zealand 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
Aurora forecasts across Zealand
All 12 places in Zealand with a forecast page, and the Kp each one needs.
- GreveKp 7
- HolbækKp 7
- KalundborgKp 7
- Klinteby FrihedKp 7
- KøgeKp 7
- Nykøbing FalsterKp 7
- NæstvedKp 7
- RingstedKp 7
- RoskildeKp 7
- SlagelseKp 7
- Solrød StrandKp 7
- VordingborgKp 7
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Zealand forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Zealand
Can you see the aurora borealis from Zealand?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Zealand had about 2.5 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 Zealand?
Kp 7. Zealand sits at geomagnetic latitude 55.2°, 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 Zealand?
September, November and August. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From May to July the sky over Zealand never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Zealand?
The centre of Zealand reads Bortle 5. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 38 km west-north-west around Kalundborg Municipality. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Zealand with reliable aurora borealis?
Inverness, United Kingdom — 1,011 km west-north-west. It needs only Kp 5 and averages 28.7 viable nights a year against 2.5 in Zealand.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Zealand.