Tasmania, Australia
Southern lights in Burnie
Answer
Tonight
Darkness window open
Civil darkness has begun.
Observed 11:55 UTC, forecast 13:26 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Australia/Hobart
Storm level needed
Burnie sits at 41.06S 145.90E in Tasmania, Australia. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Burnie at 48.0 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 6.9 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Burnie sits at 48.0 degrees geomagnetic. The lowest NOAA storm level whose typical viewing latitude reaches it is G4 (Kp = 8, including a 9-). Even Kp 9 does not put the average oval edge overhead by SWPC's rule.
"aurora has been seen as low as Alabama and northern California (typically 45° geomagnetic lat.)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Devonport (40 km), Launceston (111 km), Hobart (235 km). Devonport sits 0.1 degrees higher on the dipole.
Approximate: SWPC calls its Kp to latitude rule an average, and a centered dipole can differ by a degree from fuller field models. How the storm level is matched
The year in darkness
Every night of 2026 at Burnie has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 7.7 hours. Every evening of the year at Burnie clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. Burnie's longest night of the year, Jun 16, has 13 h 39 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Burnie, when the sun is lowest, falls at 01:11 on local clocks on December 15 and 00:17 on June 15. That is 1 h 11 min after midnight in December and 17 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Burnie the darkest hour sits late in SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 8.0 h | 5.1 h | 67% | 2.6 h | |
| Feb | 9.3 h | 6.8 h | 64% | 3.3 h | |
| Mar | 10.6 h | 8.4 h | 68% | 3.4 h | |
| Apr | 12.0 h | 9.9 h | 70% | 3.6 h | |
| May | 13.1 h | 10.9 h | 70% | 3.9 h | |
| Jun | 13.6 h | 11.4 h | 70% | 4.1 hbest | |
| Jul | 13.4 h | 11.2 h | 73% | 3.6 h | |
| Aug | 12.5 h | 10.3 h | 73% | 3.4 h | |
| Sep | 11.2 h | 9.1 h | 74% | 2.9 h | |
| Oct | 9.8 h | 7.5 h | 70% | 2.9 h | |
| Nov | 8.4 h | 5.7 h | 70% | 2.5 h | |
| Dec | 7.7 h | 4.5 h | 72% | 2.2 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, June is the darkest month at Burnie with 13.6 hours of civil night and December the lightest at 7.7. Across the year Burnie gets 3,943 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Burnie, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 4.5 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Burnie at 70% across the year, from 64% in February to 74% in September. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Burnie averages 70%, against a median of 60% for Glow towns in Australia.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives June the best score, 4.1 hours, ahead of May at 3.9. Burnie's equinox months score 3.4 in March and 2.9 in September, the weeks SWPC links with larger storms.
Kp history
No whole Kp value puts the average oval edge over Burnie by SWPC's rule, so the GFZ record has no threshold to count. SWPC's G4 row gives the typical latitude where aurora has been seen.
Share of UTC days in each calendar month whose highest 3-hour Kp reached the level. Kp history by year
Moon, next 30 nights
Over the 30 nights from Oct 2, the new moon falls on Oct 11 and the full moon on Oct 26, in Australia/Hobart dates. 16 of the 30 nights at Burnie have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 4 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Burnie has 10 h 24 min of civil night, 6 h 19 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
61% lit
6.3 h
- 3
50% lit
7.2 h
- 4
39% lit
7.9 h
- 5
28% lit
8.5 h
- 6
19% lit
9.0 h
- 7
11% lit
9.3 h
- 8
5% lit
9.7 h
- 9
1% lit
10.1 h
- 10
0% lit
10.0 h
- 11
1% lit
9.7 h
- 12
4% lit
8.6 h
- 13
9% lit
7.5 h
- 14
15% lit
6.4 h
- 15
22% lit
5.4 h
- 16
31% lit
4.5 h
- 17
39% lit
3.7 h
- 18
49% lit
3.1 h
- 19
58% lit
2.5 h
- 20
68% lit
2.1 h
- 21
77% lit
1.7 h
- 22
85% lit
1.3 h
- 23
91% lit
0.9 h
- 24
96% lit
0.5 h
- 25
99% lit
0.0 h
- 26
100% lit
0.0 h
- 27
97% lit
1.1 h
- 28
92% lit
2.4 h
- 29
85% lit
3.6 h
- 30
75% lit
4.6 h
- 31
65% lit
5.4 h
Each cell is the night that starts on that date. Hours are civil-dark time with the moon below the horizon; the green rule scales with them. Green outline: new moon. Bone outline: full moon.
Within Australia
Among the 4 Glow towns in Tasmania, Burnie ranks 4th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 48.1 degrees; Hobart sits highest at 49.6. Among the 14 Glow towns in Australia, Burnie ranks 4th by dipole latitude against a national median of 45.4 degrees; Hobart sits highest at 49.6. On December 15 Burnie gets 7.7 hours of civil night, 11th longest of 14 in Australia, where the median is 8.0.
Questions
- Can you see the southern lights in Burnie?
- Burnie sits at 48.0 degrees geomagnetic. The lowest NOAA storm level whose typical viewing latitude reaches it is G4 (Kp = 8, including a 9-). Even Kp 9 does not put the average oval edge overhead by SWPC's rule. Clear, dark sky over Burnie still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Burnie?
- Every night at Burnie has civil darkness. Tonight has 10 h 24 min, and December 15 has 7.7 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Burnie?
- June, by civil night at Burnie times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Burnie in the dark months?
- About 70% mean cloud amount over Burnie in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Burnie by month
Region and comparisons