Northern lights in Lille tonight

Seeing the northern lights from Lille

Lille, at 50.6° N, is the northernmost major French city (with Dunkirk). It is also where auroras are statistically most frequent: a Kp ≥ 6 is often enough. The plains of Flanders and Artois provide a clear northern horizon for tens of kilometres. The proximity of Belgium and the Netherlands adds horizon light pollution, but the 30-40 km band to the north or east of the metropolis remains workable.

Observation conditions in Lille

Lille is rated Bortle 8. The countryside around Arras and Saint-Omer drops to Bortle 5. The closest good sites are the Mormal forest (Bortle 4, 50 km south-east) and the Nord-Pas-de-Calais coal heaps, some of which reach Bortle 5 thanks to their isolation. The nordic climate unfortunately gives few fully clear nights: favour easterly-wind periods and winter anticyclones.

Recent auroras from Lille

10-11 May 2024 (Kp 9): green and pink aurora photographed from the Citadel of Lille, the Loos-en-Gohelle heaps and the Opal Coast. 5 November 2023 (Kp 7): aurora visible from inland Flanders fields. 8 September 2017 (Kp 7.7): many sightings in the North.