Aurora · New Zealand
Southern lights forecast for Lake Tekapo
From Lake Tekapo the aurora needs only an extreme storm (Kp 9), and a clear sky. It appears low on the southern horizon at first, climbing higher as Kp rises above 9.
Right now
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Lake Tekapo at a glance
- Kp needed (on the horizon)
- 9
- Geomagnetic latitude
- 47.5° S
- Dark enough
- every night of the year
- Best hours
- around local midnight
How to read this
Kp measures how disturbed Earth's magnetic field is, from 0 to 9. The higher it goes, the further the auroral oval spreads toward the equator. Lake Tekapo lies at 47.5° geomagnetic latitude, so an aurora shows on its horizon from about only an extreme storm (Kp 9), and overhead a couple of Kp steps higher. The sun goes well below the horizon every night of the year here, so any clear night can work. Get away from city lights and look south.
Nearby places
Source
Kp observed and forecast: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, read live by your browser. Kp threshold: centred-dipole geomagnetic latitude and NOAA's ~2° per Kp oval rule, an estimate that shifts with each storm; the aurora map shows the OVATION oval as it is now.