Hauts-de-France

Northern lights in Amiens tonight

Real-time aurora forecast for Amiens (Hauts-de-France) - latitude 49.89° N, estimated Kp threshold 7.

Kp index

4.3

unsettled

Hemispheric power

North21GW

South22GW

Source: app.pulsar-si.com

Tonight in Amiens

Very unlikely

Based on Kp 4.3 and Amiens's latitude.

Seeing the northern lights from Amiens

Amiens, at 49.9° N, enjoys one of the most northerly latitudes among major continental French cities. Auroras become visible from Kp 6. The flat Picardy countryside offers a particularly open northern horizon over the Somme bay and the Flemish plains. May 2024 was spectacular here, with Amiens cathedral lit red in the background of many shots.

Observation conditions in Amiens

Bortle 7 over Amiens. The Somme bay (Bortle 4, 70 km west) and the Picardy plateau (Bortle 5, 30 km north) offer clear skies. The Saint-Quentin Isle marsh and the Crécy forest are other options. The continental climate gives clear nights in autumn and winter, with frosts that aid transparency.

Recent auroras from Amiens

10-11 May 2024 (Kp 9): exceptional naked-eye aurora, photographed with Amiens cathedral. 5 November 2023 (Kp 7): observations from the Somme bay. 27 February 2023 (Kp 6): rural Picardy sightings.

What Amiens asks of the sky

Geomagnetic latitude

51.4°

5 of 40

Kp index required

Kp 7

9 / 12 months

Dark nights per year

326

-39

Amiens ranks 5 of the 40 cities we track, at 51.4° geomagnetic. Le Havre sits 0° higher , Caen follows at 51.2°.

The threshold to clear here is Kp 7. Twelve months of archive hold 9 nights, the most recent on 4 July 2026, and 157 since 1994. Lille and Rouen and Calais share exactly the same threshold.

A constraint specific to this latitude: astronomical night disappears from 3 juin to 11 juillet. Those 39 nights are lost in advance, whatever the Sun does. That leaves 326 usable nights.

How to read the Kp index →

Local conditions

Light pollution

Bortle 6 of 9

SQM 19.03 mag/arcsec²

Nearest darker sky

Amiens

2 km · Bortle 3

Kp forecast, next 3 days

Source: app.pulsar-si.com. For an aurora to be visible from Amiens, Kp must exceed 7.

Wed 19 Aug

1.1

Expected max Kp

Thu 20 Aug

1.5

Expected max Kp

Fri 21 Aug

1.7

Expected max Kp

Frequently asked questions

Can you see the northern lights from Amiens?

Yes, but rarely. Typically a Kp index of ≥ 7 is needed for the aurora to become visible from Amiens (latitude 49.9° N). Major geomagnetic storms (Kp 8-9) that reach this latitude happen only a handful of times per 11-year solar cycle.

What Kp index is needed to see auroras from Amiens?

The approximate Kp threshold for Amiens is 7. Below that, auroras stay confined to high latitudes (Norway, Scotland). Above it, they gradually extend southward. A Kp of 8 gives a fair chance, 9 a strong one.

When is the best time to watch from Amiens?

Auroras are a nighttime phenomenon, best observed between roughly 10 PM and 2 AM local time, when the geomagnetic pole is tilted towards the Earth's night side. In practice, peaks depend on when a coronal mass ejection arrives - activity can spike at any hour.

Where around Amiens offers better conditions?

Move at least 40-60 km north of Amiens to escape urban light pollution and gain 1-2 magnitudes of limiting magnitude.

Nearby cities

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