Kp index guide › Kp 3 locations

Kp scale

Kp 3 aurora locations

Kp 3 is a significant threshold - it brings aurora within reach of northern Scotland, the Northern Isles, and the more southerly parts of Scandinavia including Bergen. A Kp 3 event on a clear night in Shetland or Orkney produces visible aurora. This is one of the most commonly reached thresholds during the current solar maximum.

Kp 3 is a step up from Kp 2 and below Kp 4.

Kp 3+ aurora locations in Scandinavia

By Kp 3 southern Norway and southern Iceland are in range. Bergen, Ålesund, the Faroe Islands, and all of Iceland become viable. The oval now covers most of populated Scandinavia.

Kp 3+ aurora locations in the UK and Ireland

The Scottish Highlands, Orkney, the Western Isles, and Shetland are all within range at Kp 3. The NC500 and Isle of Skye offer dark skies well-suited to a low-level display.

Kp 3+ aurora locations in North America

Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, and Banff come into range at Kp 3 alongside Great Falls, Montana. The aurora zone now covers a broad band of central Canada.

Kp 3+ aurora locations in central Europe

Estonia - Lahemaa National Park and Tallinn - comes into range at Kp 3. The Baltic states are the first part of mainland Europe outside Scandinavia to reach the threshold.

Aurora australis at Kp 3+

Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego and New Zealand's southern South Island - Stewart Island, Fiordland, and Lake Tekapo - are within range at Kp 3. These are the world's highest magnetic latitude southern hemisphere aurora sites.

Locations are sorted by tonight's cloud cover - clearest conditions first. Updated every 30 minutes.

Current Kp level

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Quiet G1 storm G3 Extreme

Current Kp 1 is below the Kp 3+ threshold. The locations on this page are not currently active.

Abisko

Kp 1-2

Sweden's aurora capital, cloudless micro-climate

68° magnetic lat

Alta

Kp 1-2

Northern Norway, polar night

70° magnetic lat

Bodø

Kp 1-2

Above Arctic Circle, Lofoten gateway

67° magnetic lat

Churchill

Kp 1-2

Sub-Arctic Manitoba, auroral oval

69° magnetic lat

Dawson City

Kp 1-2

Yukon gold rush town inside the aurora oval

65° magnetic lat

Fairbanks

Kp 1-2

Alaska, auroral oval, Cleary Summit

68° magnetic lat

Gällivare

Kp 1-2

Dundret fell, less-visited Lapland

68° magnetic lat

Ilulissat

Kp 1

UNESCO Icefjord, icebergs and aurora

72° magnetic lat

Ivalo

Kp 1

Finland's northernmost town at 69°N

69° magnetic lat

Jukkasjärvi

Kp 1-2

ICEHOTEL on the Torne River

68° magnetic lat

Kangerlussuaq

Kp 1

Clearest skies in Greenland, tundra dark sky

73° magnetic lat

Kiruna

Kp 1-2

ICEHOTEL and Swedish Lapland aurora

68° magnetic lat

Kittilä

Kp 1-2

Direct flights, gateway to Levi

68° magnetic lat

Kvaløya

Kp 1

Tromsø island, Kattfjordeidet headland

70° magnetic lat

Levi

Kp 1-2

Lapland ski resort, glass igloos

68° magnetic lat

Luosto

Kp 1-2

Purpose-built aurora resort

67° magnetic lat

Lyngen Alps

Kp 1

Alpine fjord scenery, 70°N

70° magnetic lat

Nuuk

Kp 1

Greenland capital, Nuup Kangerlua fjord

71° magnetic lat

Saariselkä

Kp 1-2

Finland's best dark-sky area

68° magnetic lat

Senja

Kp 1-2

Island of contrasts, dramatic coastline

69° magnetic lat

Svalbard

Kp 1

Inside the auroral oval year-round

78° magnetic lat

Tromsø

Kp 1-2

World's aurora capital

70° magnetic lat

Yellowknife

Kp 1-2

Aurora capital of North America

69° magnetic lat

Ylläs

Kp 1-2

Finland's highest fell at 718 m

68° magnetic lat

Akureyri

Kp 2-3

North Iceland, Lake Mývatn

66° magnetic lat

Anchorage

Kp 2-3

Alaska, Kp 2 from the Chugach Range

65° magnetic lat

Húsavík

Kp 2

North Iceland, Skjálfandi Bay

66° magnetic lat

Lofoten Islands

Kp 2-3

Dramatic coastline and dark skies

68° magnetic lat

Reykjavik

Kp 2-3

Capital, Grótta lighthouse area

65° magnetic lat

Rovaniemi

Kp 2-3

Gateway to Finnish Lapland

66° magnetic lat

Scotland

Kp 2-4

Scotland aurora hub — Shetland to Galloway

57° magnetic lat

Shetland Islands

Kp 2-3

Scotland's northernmost islands

61° magnetic lat

Snæfellsbær

Kp 2-3

Kirkjufell mountain, Grundarfjörður

65° magnetic lat

Snæfellsnes

Kp 2-3

Glacier peninsula, Kirkjufell mountain

65° magnetic lat

Umeå

Kp 2-3

Northern Sweden, High Coast aurora

64° magnetic lat

Vopnafjörður

Kp 2-3

Northeast Iceland, Bortle Class 1 fjord

65° magnetic lat

Westfjords

Kp 2

Iceland's most remote, darkest region

66° magnetic lat

Whitehorse

Kp 2-3

Yukon, dark skies and wilderness lodges

67° magnetic lat

Aberdeen

Kp 3-4

North-east Scotland, coastal dark sky

57° magnetic lat

Ålesund

Kp 3

Art Nouveau coast, fjord archipelago

62° magnetic lat

Banff

Kp 3-4

Rocky Mountains, high-altitude dark sky

58° magnetic lat

Bergen

Kp 3-4

Gateway to the fjords

60° magnetic lat

Cairngorms

Kp 3-4

Dark-sky plateau above 1 000 m

57° magnetic lat

Eiði

Kp 3

Risin og Kellingin sea stacks

62° magnetic lat

Fort William

Kp 3-4

Gateway to the Great Glen and Nevis range

57° magnetic lat

Gásadalur

Kp 3

Múlafossur waterfall, clifftop village

62° magnetic lat

Golden Circle

Kp 3-4

Þingvellir, Geysir, Gullfoss

64° magnetic lat

Great Falls

Kp 3-4

North-central Montana, Missouri River plains

56° magnetic lat

Helsinki

Kp 3-4

Finnish capital

60° magnetic lat

Inverness

Kp 3-4

Highland capital, dark-sky glens nearby

58° magnetic lat

Isle of Lewis

Kp 3-4

Callanish Standing Stones, Butt of Lewis

58° magnetic lat

Isle of Skye

Kp 3-4

Remote Highland island with clear north skies

57° magnetic lat

Jökulsárlón

Kp 3-4

Glacial lagoon, south coast

64° magnetic lat

Kristiansund

Kp 3

Atlantic coast, Grip island dark sky

63° magnetic lat

Lahemaa National Park

Kp 3

Käsmu peninsula and Altja coast, Bortle Class 2, Gulf of Finland

60° magnetic lat

Landmannalaugar

Kp 3

Rhyolite highland, Bortle Class 1

64° magnetic lat

Molde

Kp 3

City of roses, Romsdal fjord aurora

63° magnetic lat

North Coast 500

Kp 3

Durness, Strathy Point — north-coast dark sky circuit

58° magnetic lat

Orkney Islands

Kp 3-4

Dark-sky archipelago north of mainland Scotland

59° magnetic lat

Outer Hebrides

Kp 3-4

Callanish, Luskentyre, Bortle Class 1-2

57° magnetic lat

Scottish Highlands

Kp 3-4

Glen Affric, Torridon, Assynt — remote Bortle 2 glens

58° magnetic lat

Selfoss

Kp 3

South Iceland, Golden Circle gateway

64° magnetic lat

Skagen

Kp 3-4

Denmark's northernmost tip, Grenen headland

58° magnetic lat

Sognefjord

Kp 3-4

Norway's longest fjord, Flåm and Balestrand

61° magnetic lat

Sudbury

Kp 3

Northern Ontario, 58°N magnetic, Killarney Provincial Park

58° magnetic lat

Tallinn

Kp 3-4

Lahemaa coast and Paldiski Peninsula

60° magnetic lat

Thunder Bay

Kp 3-4

Northwestern Ontario, Lake Superior north shore

57° magnetic lat

Tórshavn

Kp 3

Capital on Streymoy, Sornfelli summit

62° magnetic lat

Vík

Kp 3

Reynisfjara black sand beach

64° magnetic lat

Winnipeg

Kp 3

Manitoba prairie capital, Lake Winnipeg dark sky

58° magnetic lat

Þórsmörk

Kp 3

Highland valley, seasonal access only

64° magnetic lat

Fiordland

Kp 3

Milford Sound, Doubtful Sound, Te Anau

58° magnetic lat

Lake Tekapo

Kp 3-4

Aoraki Mackenzie Dark Sky Reserve

56° magnetic lat

Stewart Island

Kp 3-4

Rakiura, NZ's southernmost inhabited island

59° magnetic lat

Ushuaia

Kp 3-4

World's southernmost city, Beagle Channel

55° magnetic lat

Common questions

Can you see aurora in Scotland at Kp 3?
Yes, from the right locations. Shetland and Orkney are the most reliable - both sit at around 59-61°N magnetic latitude where Kp 3 is often sufficient. The Scottish Highlands and the north coast of mainland Scotland can also produce visible aurora at Kp 3 on clear, dark nights well away from light pollution.
What makes Kp 3 different from Kp 2?
Kp 3 extends aurora visibility into the 57-62°N magnetic latitude band. This adds Shetland, Orkney, Bergen, the Faroe Islands, and Tallinn in Estonia. For UK observers, Kp 3 is the first level where aurora becomes genuinely possible from within the UK - not just from Norway or Iceland.
How often does Kp reach 3?
During the current solar maximum, Kp 3 is one of the most frequently observed levels - typically occurring on several nights per month. It does not require a geomagnetic storm; elevated solar wind speed or a weak CME arrival is usually sufficient.
Is Bergen Norway good for aurora at Kp 3?
Bergen sits at around 60°N magnetic latitude. At Kp 3 aurora is possible, particularly looking north from elevated positions above the city lights. Bergen is better positioned than cities further south but is significantly cloudier than the north of Norway - weather is the main constraint.
What are the best UK locations for Kp 3 aurora?
Shetland is the best UK option at Kp 3, followed by Orkney. Both are dark enough and far enough north to see aurora when the Kp reaches 3 on a clear night. The mainland Scottish Highlands can produce aurora at Kp 3-4 from dark sites such as the north coast or remote glen locations.

Other Kp levels

Kp 1 Kp 2 Kp 4 Kp 5 Kp 6 Kp 7 Kp 8 Kp 9

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