Normandie

Northern lights in Caen tonight

Real-time aurora forecast for Caen (Normandie) - latitude 49.18° N, estimated Kp threshold 7.

Kp index

4.3

unsettled

Hemispheric power

North21GW

South22GW

Source: app.pulsar-si.com

Tonight in Caen

Very unlikely

Based on Kp 4.3 and Caen's latitude.

Seeing the northern lights from Caen

Caen, at 49.2° N, watches the northern horizon over the English Channel from the nearby Norman coast (Ouistreham, Courseulles). Auroras become visible from Kp 6.5. May 2024 enabled memorable observations from the D-Day beaches, taking advantage of clear skies over the Orne estuary and the Côte de Nacre.

Observation conditions in Caen

Bortle 7 in the centre. The Pays d'Auge (Bortle 5, 30 km east) and the Norman coast (Bortle 4-5, 15-20 km north) offer the best conditions. Omaha and Gold beaches are ideal observation points with an open horizon. The Cotentin peninsula, further out, drops to Bortle 3-4 in its rural areas.

Recent auroras from Caen

10-11 May 2024 (Kp 9): red and green auroras reported from the Côte de Nacre, photos relayed by Ouest-France. 24 March 2024 (Kp 8): confirmed observations from the Seine bay. 5 November 2023 (Kp 7): rural sightings.

What Caen asks of the sky

Geomagnetic latitude

51.2°

6 of 40

Kp index required

Kp 7

9 / 12 months

Dark nights per year

338

-27

Caen ranks 6 of the 40 cities we track, at 51.2° geomagnetic. Amiens sits 0.2° higher , Rouen 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. Le Havre and Rouen and Rennes share exactly the same threshold.

A constraint specific to this latitude: astronomical night disappears from 9 juin to 5 juillet. Those 27 nights are lost in advance, whatever the Sun does. That leaves 338 usable nights.

How to read the Kp index →

Local conditions

Light pollution

Bortle 7 of 9

SQM 18.71 mag/arcsec²

Nearest darker sky

Louvigny

2 km · Bortle 2

Kp forecast, next 3 days

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

Yes, but rarely. Typically a Kp index of ≥ 7 is needed for the aurora to become visible from Caen (latitude 49.2° 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 Caen?

The approximate Kp threshold for Caen 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 Caen?

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 Caen offers better conditions?

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

Nearby cities

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