Grand Est

Northern lights in Mulhouse tonight

Real-time aurora forecast for Mulhouse (Grand Est) - latitude 47.75° N, estimated Kp threshold 8.

Kp index

4.3

unsettled

Hemispheric power

North21GW

South22GW

Source: app.pulsar-si.com

Tonight in Mulhouse

Very unlikely

Based on Kp 4.3 and Mulhouse's latitude.

Seeing the northern lights from Mulhouse

Mulhouse, at 47.75° N in Alsace, is flanked by the Vosges to the west and the Black Forest to the east, offering remarkable skies a short drive away. Auroras become visible from Kp 7. The position in the Alsace plain gives a clear northern horizon, and nearby massif altitudes lift observers above the plain's pollution layer.

Observation conditions in Mulhouse

Bortle 7 over the Mulhouse area. The Ballon d'Alsace (Bortle 3-4, 50 km west) and the Markstein (Bortle 4, 35 km west) offer alpine skies. The Sundgau (Bortle 5, 20 km south) is more accessible. The Vosges at altitude remain unbeatable for sky quality, particularly at the Grand Ballon and the Hohneck.

Recent auroras from Mulhouse

10-11 May 2024 (Kp 9): red aurora from the Ballon d'Alsace and the Grand Ballon. 24 March 2024 (Kp 8): observations from the Markstein. 5 November 2023 (Kp 7): faint aurora reported from the Sundgau.

What Mulhouse asks of the sky

Geomagnetic latitude

48.5°

23 of 40

Kp index required

Kp 8

2 / 12 months

Dark nights per year

365

365 / 365

Mulhouse ranks 23 of the 40 cities we track, at 48.5° geomagnetic. Dijon sits 0° higher , La Rochelle follows at 48.3°.

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. Strasbourg and Besançon and Nancy share exactly the same threshold.

Mulhouse 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 18.83 mag/arcsec²

Nearest darker sky

Modenheim

2 km · Bortle 3

Kp forecast, next 3 days

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

Yes, but rarely. Typically a Kp index of ≥ 8 is needed for the aurora to become visible from Mulhouse (latitude 47.8° 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 Mulhouse?

The approximate Kp threshold for Mulhouse 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 Mulhouse?

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 Mulhouse offers better conditions?

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

Nearby cities

Grand Est

Strasbourg

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Besançon

Grand Est

Nancy

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