Aurora destinations · Southern Hemisphere
Southern lights in Stewart Island
New Zealand · 46.90°S, 168.13°E
Stewart Island lies outside the auroral oval: aurora needs a geomagnetic storm, a few times a month around solar maximum (magnetic latitude 55°). Light pollution: the sky here is dark.
Open the live forecast for Stewart Island
At a glance
- Good odds: from Kp 3.5 at a dark site
- Best months: September, March and August
- Best weeks in the coming year: 3–16 Mar · 21 Jul – 10 Aug · 18 Aug – 7 Sept
- Dark enough for aurora all year
Month by month
A typical night: real darkness and moon, average aurora activity (Kp 2014–2025) and satellite cloud cover (NASA, 2001–2025). Long-range odds, not a forecast.
| Month | Typical night | Clear sky | Dark hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4% | 25% | 7 h |
| February | 5% | 27% | 8 h |
| March | 5% | 29% | 10 h |
| April | 5% | 27% | 12 h |
| May | 5% | 28% | 13 h |
| June | 5% | 30% | 14 h |
| July | 5% | 32% | 13 h |
| August | 5% | 31% | 12 h |
| September | 5% | 29% | 10 h |
| October | 4% | 26% | 9 h |
| November | 4% | 23% | 7 h |
| December | 4% | 25% | 6 h |
Tips for Stewart Island
- Clouds decide most nights: check the hour-by-hour forecast, and the “Clearer skies nearby” card for a spot within a drive.
- Aurora is usually best between about 22:00 and 02:00 local time; give your eyes 15 minutes in the dark.
- The sky is already dark here: find an open view to the south.