Bretagne

Northern lights in Brest tonight

Real-time aurora forecast for Brest (Bretagne) - latitude 48.39° N, estimated Kp threshold 7.

Kp index

4.3

unsettled

Hemispheric power

North21GW

South22GW

Source: app.pulsar-si.com

Tonight in Brest

Very unlikely

Based on Kp 4.3 and Brest's latitude.

Seeing the northern lights from Brest

Brest, at 48.4° N, is the westernmost major French city. The observation threshold is around Kp 6.5-7. Finistère offers a coastline with perfectly clear northern and western horizons over the Iroise Sea. The Monts d'Arrée, inland, are among the best astronomical observation sites in France, with minimal light pollution and less than an hour's drive from Brest.

Observation conditions in Brest

Brest is rated Bortle 5. The Monts d'Arrée (Roc Trévezel, Ménez Hom, Bortle 3, 40-60 km) offer skies comparable to the best Alpine sites. The Crozon peninsula (Bortle 3-4) and the Pointe du Raz, touristy though they are, remain usable off-season. The Finistère climate is famously humid: target winter anticyclone periods, and monitor cloud cover continuously.

Recent auroras from Brest

10-11 May 2024 (Kp 9): pink and green aurora photographed from the Pointe Saint-Mathieu lighthouse, the Crozon peninsula and the Monts d'Arrée. 5 November 2023 (Kp 7): aurora visible in the Monts d'Arrée. 8 September 2017 (Kp 7.7): sightings in north Finistère.

What Brest asks of the sky

Geomagnetic latitude

51°

8 of 40

Kp index required

Kp 7

9 / 12 months

Dark nights per year

365

365 / 365

Brest ranks 8 of the 40 cities we track, at 51° geomagnetic. Rouen sits 0.2° higher , Saint-Malo follows at 50.9°.

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. Quimper and Rennes and Lorient share exactly the same threshold.

Brest keeps full astronomical night all 365 nights of the year, which every city north of the Loire loses for part of the summer.

How to read the Kp index →

Local conditions

Light pollution

Bortle 7 of 9

SQM 18.77 mag/arcsec²

Nearest darker sky

Recouvrance

2 km · Bortle 2

Kp forecast, next 3 days

Source: app.pulsar-si.com. For an aurora to be visible from Brest, 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 Brest?

Yes, but rarely. Typically a Kp index of ≥ 7 is needed for the aurora to become visible from Brest (latitude 48.4° 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 Brest?

The approximate Kp threshold for Brest 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 Brest?

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 Brest offers better conditions?

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

Nearby cities

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