Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Northern lights in Dijon tonight

Real-time aurora forecast for Dijon (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) - latitude 47.32° N, estimated Kp threshold 8.

Kp index

4.3

unsettled

Hemispheric power

North21GW

South22GW

Source: app.pulsar-si.com

Tonight in Dijon

Very unlikely

Based on Kp 4.3 and Dijon's latitude.

Seeing the northern lights from Dijon

Dijon, at 47.3° N, sits at the heart of Burgundy, in a plain framed by the Côtes de Nuits to the east and the Morvan to the west. The observation threshold is around Kp 7. The Morvan regional park, easily accessible, offers one of the best night skies in north-eastern France. The semi-continental climate produces clear nights in autumn and winter, without the chronic cloud cover of the Atlantic coast.

Observation conditions in Dijon

Dijon is rated Bortle 6. The Morvan (Bortle 3-4, 60-90 km) is the reference site: an International Dark Sky Reserve pending certification, with several equipped observation points. The Hautes Côtes de Nuits offer north-west views with a very open horizon. Moving towards the Jura, the skies drop to Bortle 2 over the Haut-Doubs.

Recent auroras from Dijon

10-11 May 2024 (Kp 9): purple and green aurora photographed from Mont Beuvray and the Morvan high points. 24 March 2024 (Kp 8): sightings from the Jura. 5 November 2023 (Kp 7): faint aurora visible in the Morvan.

What Dijon asks of the sky

Geomagnetic latitude

48.5°

22 of 40

Kp index required

Kp 8

2 / 12 months

Dark nights per year

365

365 / 365

Dijon ranks 22 of the 40 cities we track, at 48.5° geomagnetic. Tours sits 0.8° higher , Mulhouse follows at 48.5°.

The threshold to clear here is Kp 8. Twelve months of archive hold 2 nights, the most recent on 19 January 2026, and 48 since 1994. Besançon and Lyon share exactly the same threshold.

Dijon 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 18.85 mag/arcsec²

Nearest darker sky

Université

2 km · Bortle 2

Kp forecast, next 3 days

Source: app.pulsar-si.com. For an aurora to be visible from Dijon, Kp must exceed 8.

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 Dijon?

Yes, but rarely. Typically a Kp index of ≥ 8 is needed for the aurora to become visible from Dijon (latitude 47.3° 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 Dijon?

The approximate Kp threshold for Dijon is 8. Below that, auroras stay confined to high latitudes (Norway, Scotland). Above it, they gradually extend southward. A Kp of 9 gives a fair chance, 10 a strong one.

When is the best time to watch from Dijon?

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 Dijon offers better conditions?

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

Nearby cities

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Besançon

Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

Lyon

Mobile app

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