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Tonight's aurora verdict — Western Australia
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Live Kp index and 24-hour forecast
Current planetary Kp
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Solar wind right now
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Best aurora viewing locations in Western Australia
These dark-sky lookouts combine an unobstructed view toward the southern ocean with minimal light pollution. Peak viewing in Western Australia runs march to september during g2+ geomagnetic storms.
Albany — Torndirrup National Park
Albany CBD — 20 min
Granite cliffs on WA's southern coast. Dark Bortle 2 skies and full Southern Ocean horizon.
Augusta — Cape Leeuwin
Perth — 3 h 30 min
South-west corner of Australia where two oceans meet — wide horizon and minimal light pollution.
Western Australia's south coast — Albany, Augusta, Esperance and Margaret River — gives the state its best Aurora Australis viewing. Perth itself sits at 32°S, so most Western Australians need to travel south for clear displays, with a planetary Kp of 6 the practical threshold for visible aurora and Kp 5 the camera-only threshold. Torndirrup National Park and Cape Leeuwin offer Bortle 2 dark skies and an unobstructed Southern Ocean horizon, while the wheatbelt south of Wagin and Katanning is high-altitude and naturally dark. The 2024–2026 solar maximum has brought repeated G4–G5 storms that lit Perth's southern suburbs in May and October 2024 — events typical only once a decade in quieter solar cycles. This page combines tonight's live Kp index, the 24-hour outlook and WA's best dark-sky aurora lookouts.
Kp index — what it means in Australia
The planetary Kp index runs 0–9. Higher Kp pushes the aurora further from the magnetic pole, making it visible from lower latitudes.
Kp 0–3 — Quiet
No aurora visible from mainland Australia. Possible faint glow at extreme southern Tasmania.
Kp 4 — Unsettled
Camera-only horizon glow possible from southern Tasmania.
Kp 5 (G1) — Minor storm
Visible aurora across Tasmania. Faint glow on horizon from Victoria, South Australia and far-south WA.
Kp 6 (G2) — Moderate storm
Bright aurora overhead in Tasmania. Clearly visible from VIC, SA and southern WA coasts.
Kp 7 (G3) — Strong storm
Vivid colour visible from VIC/SA/WA. Reaches as far north as Sydney and Perth.
Kp 8 (G4) — Severe storm
Aurora visible from NSW, WA and southern QLD. Once-a-year event.
Kp 9 (G5) — Extreme storm
Aurora visible from the entire continent including Brisbane and Darwin. Once-a-decade event.
Related forecasts & resources
Aurora Western Australia — Frequently asked questions
Live Kp, OVATION map and storm alerts from the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center. Australian context from the Bureau of Meteorology Space Weather Services.
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