🌌 Northern Lights in Denmark

What are the northern lights?

The northern lights — aurora borealis — are created when charged particles from the Sun hit Earth's magnetic field and are channelled towards the poles. There they collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the atmosphere, making them glow green, red and violet. During strong solar activity the particles can reach all the way down over Denmark, and the aurora becomes visible from our latitudes.

When can you see them in Denmark?

The aurora can in principle appear all year round, but in practice the winter half of the year, from September to March, is by far the best. The nights are long and dark, and the chance of aurora is highest around the equinoxes (September and March), when Earth's magnetic field couples most favourably with the solar wind. Look towards the north, away from city lights, with an unobstructed view of the horizon.

A good display over Denmark usually requires a geomagnetic storm with a Kp-index of at least 5. The Sun is currently in an active phase of its 11-year cycle, which means more solar storms and therefore better aurora chances over Denmark. Follow today's solar activity on our Sun live page.

What does the Kp-index mean?

The Kp-index is a scale from 0 to 9 that measures how disturbed Earth's magnetic field is by the solar wind. The higher the Kp, the further south the aurora can be seen. At Kp 0-2 the field is calm and aurora is only seen far to the north. From Kp 5 upwards, aurora can reach down over Denmark, and at Kp 7-9 it can become visible across the whole country, even in the cities.

The best places to see them in Denmark

Light pollution is the biggest enemy when it comes to the aurora. You get the best experience at dark sites with an open view to the north: Skagen and the rest of the northernmost Jutland, Blåvand on the west coast, Møns Klint and the islands of Læsø and Anholt. Use our light pollution map or the overview of Denmark's best observing sites to find dark spots near you — any dark road with an open horizon can do when the Kp-index is high.

How to photograph the aurora

The aurora often looks fainter to the eye than the camera can capture. Use a tripod, a wide-angle lens, a high ISO (1600-3200) and an exposure of 5-15 seconds. Be patient — the aurora often comes in waves, and the best images appear when it dances strongest in the middle of the night.