Aurora is unlikely tonight
Aurora usually becomes visible from here around Kp 7, and tonight is well below that. A strong substorm can bring it lower — treat this as a guide, not a cutoff.
Latest Kp1.73-hour estimate to 09:00 UTC
Needed here7
Geomagnetic latitude
53.1°
Gdańsk sits at 54.4° geographic, but the oval is centred on the magnetic pole.
Under the oval at
Kp 9
Roughly the activity level at which the oval expands over you. Kp sets the oval's reach, not the arc's exact position at a given moment.
Cloud tonight
85%
Average across tonight's dark hours. Solid cloud cover. Even a strong display will be invisible from here. Right now it's 100%.
Dark from
20:53
Dark until 04:35. Aurora is usually best around midnight.
Seeing the aurora from Gdańsk, Poland
The auroral oval is a ring centred on Earth's magnetic pole, not the geographic one. That is why Gdańsk — at 54.4° geographic latitude — behaves like a 53.1° location as far as aurora is concerned. A higher Kp pushes that ring further from the pole, which is why your geomagnetic latitude — not your spot on a map — decides the number you need.
From here, aurora starts to clear the northern horizon at around Kp 7, and the oval expands over you at around Kp 9, when displays reach high into the sky. Kp describes the oval's reach, not where the arc will be at a given moment. Find a spot with an unobstructed view north and away from street lighting. Give your eyes twenty minutes to adjust, and remember that a camera picks up colour long before the naked eye does.
One caveat worth knowing: these thresholds are averages, not promises. Kp is a planetary index covering three hours, so it cannot tell you where the aurora is at this minute — for that, NOAA's OVATION model maps the oval half an hour ahead. The real auroral oval moves around with the solar wind and reaches furthest from the pole near midnight, so any given night can run better or worse than the number suggests. Treat it as a good guide to whether tonight is worth your time, not a guarantee.
Common questions
- Can you see the aurora borealis from Gdańsk, Poland?
- Yes, during strong enough geomagnetic activity. Gdańsk, Poland sits at about 53.1° geomagnetic latitude, so aurora becomes visible low on the northern horizon at around Kp 7, and the oval expands over it at around Kp 9, when displays can reach high into the sky rather than staying low. Kp is a planetary three-hour index: it tells you how far the auroral oval reaches, not exactly where the aurora will be in your sky at a given moment.
- What Kp index is needed to see the aurora in Gdańsk?
- About Kp 7 for a display low on the horizon, and about Kp 9 before the oval expands over you and displays reach high into the sky. Kp is a planetary index, so the number you need depends on your geomagnetic latitude rather than your position on a map — and it describes how far the oval reaches, not where the arc will be at a given moment.
- When is the best time to look for the aurora in Gdańsk?
- Aurora is most active around magnetic midnight, roughly 22:00–02:00 local time. You also need a properly dark sky, which is not the same as "after sunset". Tonight in Gdańsk the sky is dark enough from about 20:53 until 04:35. Clear skies matter as much as the Kp number.
Get alerted when aurora reaches Gdańsk
We'll email you when the Kp index is forecast to pass 7 — roughly where aurora comes into range for Gdańsk, Poland. Nothing else.
Nearby locations
Kp index and forecast from NOAA SWPC. Cloud cover and sun times from Open-Meteo. Geomagnetic latitude uses the IGRF-14 dipole for epoch 2025.