Guide · Webcam

Rovaniemi Aurora Borealis Webcam: the sky over Lapland live

At the top, you see the sky above Rovaniemi live, along with the chances for tonight and the last 30 days. Below, you learn how to read a camera image and what it cannot tell you.

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Editorial rovaniemipolarlichter.deUpdated on October 3, 20267 min read10 sources

Live camera

The sky over Lapland, right now

Aurora Borealis over the forest near Rovaniemi

LIVE

Tonight in Rovaniemi

Will you see the northern lights tonight?

…

–highest Kp tonight ·

–cloud cover from 9 pm to 2 am ·

–dark enough (season)

Cloud cover per hour tonight

How we judge this

Our rule, not a guarantee: first it has to be dark. Then the clouds decide: over 70 % cover means hardly any chance, under 30 % with a Kp of 2 or more means good chances, anything in between needs a little luck. The Kp index measures the disturbance of Earth's magnetic field on a scale from 0 to 9.

Updated: · every 12 hours · Kp: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center · Clouds: MET Norway

The last 30 days

How active have the northern lights been?

quiet (under 2)moderate (2 to 4)active (4 to 5)strong (5 and up)Clouds at night (forecast; “–” = before measuring began)

Day	Highest Kp	Activity	Clouds	Our take

Kp: NOAA (highest value of the day). Clouds: MET Norway, forecast for 9 pm to 2 am, since measuring began.

The Tour for This Guide Rovaniemi: Northern Lights Tour with Guarantee 4.6 (4,381 reviews) 8 hoursAt most 8 guestsPickup Included from$228per person Check availabilityFree cancellation up to 24 hours in advance

In short

01Live Stream: At the top, one camera runs from Rovaniemi and a second from Lapland; the stream starts when you tap Play.
02Tonight: Directly below: activity, clouds over Rovaniemi, and our forecast for tonight.
03Live cameras: Current aurora borealis images are provided by the Sodankylä Observatory of the University of Oulu, with cameras in Sodankylä and Abisko.¹
04How to read them: Green glow on the round sky image means: aurora borealis is currently active in the north.
05Matching: The Finnish Meteorological Institute shows you the activity over Finland on its aurora and space weather page.²

What a sky camera shows

An aurora camera is not an ordinary webcam pointed at a market square or a ski slope. Most often it is an all-sky camera: it looks straight up with an extreme wide-angle lens and captures the entire sky as a round disc. The edge of this disc is the horizon, and the center is the point directly above the camera. This lets you see at a glance whether any light is moving somewhere in the sky.

Such cameras work with long exposure times and are more sensitive than the human eye. This is both a blessing and a curse. On the one hand, the camera makes faint arcs visible that you might only perceive outside as a bright haze. On the other hand, an aurora often looks stronger and greener in the image than it does in the actual sky. So when comparing, expect a somewhat paler impression on site.

For your evening in Lapland, the camera image is above all proof. Forecasts and indices describe what might happen. The camera shows what is happening right now. When green bands move across the disc, the aurora is active in the region. Then it is worth putting on your jacket and going outside yourself, instead of continuing to stare at the screen.

Your plan

From camera image to your own view

In the afternoon

Check the clouds

First check the cloud cover for your location, then everything else.
In the evening

View activity

The Finnish Meteorological Institute website shows auroras and space weather.²
Best viewing window

Open camera

Allsky images from Sodankylä and Abisko show whether the north is glowing.¹
Green in the image

Get out of the light

A short walk out of town makes a real difference.³
On site

Ounasvaara

The hill is reachable on foot from the center and has relatively dark surroundings.⁴

The cameras in Sodankylä and Abisko

A reliable source for current images is the Sodankylä Geophysical Observatory, which belongs to the University of Oulu. On its real-time data page, it shows the latest aurora photographs from Sodankylä in Finnish Lapland and from Abisko.¹ Anyone who wants to follow the aurora live will find genuine measurement images here rather than edited promotional photos. The site looks sober and scientific, but that is exactly what makes it credible.

Sodankylä lies further north than Rovaniemi, in the same part of Finland. Abisko lies across the border in Sweden. Both locations are therefore not your front door, but they show what is happening in the sky over Lapland right now. If both images show strong glow, the chances are good that there is something to see over Rovaniemi as well, provided there are no clouds in the way there.

At the top of this page, you find two live streams: a camera from Apukka Resort near Rovaniemi and a sky camera from Lapin Satu Hotel in Lapland. These are video streams from the operators, not measurement cameras; they show the sky as a good camera sees it and make strong auroras clearly visible. Whether they are broadcasting is checked by our server twice a day; if a camera goes down, the site lets you know and you switch to the other.

Dark hours

Hours without sun at midmonth

Hours

Hours without sun at the month's midpoint, NOAA station Rovaniemi Apukka, average 1991 to 2020.⁵ ⁵ ⁵ ⁵ ⁵ ⁵ ⁵

Sources

What each source tells you

Source	What it shows	What it is good for
Allsky camera Sodankylä	Current images from Finnish Lapland¹	Proof that it is glowing
Allsky camera Abisko	Current images from Sweden¹	Second confirmation
Meteorological Institute	Auroras and space weather²	Activity trend
NOAA map	Green oval around the pole⁶	Position of the oval
Weather app	Cloud cover over your location	Whether you see anything yourself

No tool sees your clouds except the weather app. Therefore, always combine camera, forecast, and cloud cover.

Decision helper

What does the image show right now?

Choose what you see on the camera.

Green bands and many stars Stars, but no green Grey, no stars Green in the image, clouds at your location Bright and faint in June

Get out now

Clear and active: step out of the city light, for example to Ounasvaara.⁴

Check again later

The sky is clear, the activity is quiet. A second look is worth it.

Check the clouds

Clouds are above the camera; at your location it can look different.

Change location

Even a short walk out can make a difference.³

Wait for the season

The season does not begin until late August.⁷

The brightness and position of the aurora are usually shown as a green oval, the center of which is the Earth's magnetic pole.

NOAA / NWS Space Weather Prediction CenterTranslated from English · Source 6

How to read the camera image

First, pay attention to the time of the image. A sky camera updates its shots at intervals, and an image from an hour ago tells you little about the present moment. Next, look at the color. Green arcs or bands are the classic aurora borealis. A uniform gray or bluish shimmer, on the other hand, often comes from the moon, twilight, or light scattered by clouds.

Next, check the stars. If there are many bright points visible on the disc, the sky above the camera is clear. If they are missing, clouds are lying over the location, and a weak aurora may be hidden behind them. An image with stars but no green means: clear sky, little activity at the moment. Then it is worth taking another look half an hour later.

Finally, pay attention to where the aurora appears on the sky. If the green glow sits on the northern edge of the disk, the lights are likely far to the north. If it stretches across the middle, it is almost directly above the camera. As a rough rule for Rovaniemi: the farther south the aurora reaches on images from Sodankylä, the better your chances are further south along the Arctic Circle.

Checklist

Your bookmarks for the evening

In the browser

Allsky page of the Sodankylä Observatory
Aurora and space weather at the Meteorological Institute
Cloud forecast for Rovaniemi

For outdoors

Warm layers
Hat and gloves
Charged phone for photos

Cost calculator

Prefer a guide? Here is the cost.

Instead of a webcam, go yourself? Here is the price for you.

With guaranteethis tourfrom $228 Guarantee and photoscheaperfrom $101 Small groupwith guaranteefrom $149

people 2

Total from$456

from per person $228

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Departure prices according to GetYourGuide, converted at the ECB reference rate. The exact price is shown when you book.

Video

A Winter in Lapland: Aurora in Time-Lapse

The video only loads when you tap Play.

Use the camera and the forecast together

The camera shows the moment, the forecast shows the trend. The Finnish Meteorological Institute offers a page on auroras and space weather where you can follow activity across Finland.² If those values rise while the camera still shows darkness, the situation may change within the hour. If the camera already shows green, it confirms that the increase has reached the sky.

Many apps also show the Kp index. NOAA describes it as a measure of disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field and of the strength of geomagnetic storms.⁸ For Lapland, it is only a rough guide: here, the aurora can be visible above the horizon even at moderate values. More important than any single number is whether the camera, the forecast, and your own eyes all point in the same direction.

On NOAA forecast maps, the aurora usually appears as a green oval around the magnetic pole of the Earth.⁶ This map tells you whether Lapland is generally within the oval. The camera tells you whether it is actually glowing there right now. Together, both give a fairly reliable picture, much more reliable than a glance at a single app before dinner.

Why the image is not your sky

A camera in Sodankylä films the sky above Sodankylä. It cannot see the clouds over Rovaniemi. So it can happen that magnificent green arcs dance on the screen while a solid layer of cloud covers the sky above your accommodation. Conversely, it can be clear where you are while the camera shows only grey. That is why a look at the cloud forecast for your location should always go along with the camera image.

Then there is the city light. Rovaniemi is not a large city, but streetlights and illuminated windows make faint auroras fade quickly. Visit Finland emphasizes that even Rovaniemi has dark skies nearby, and already a short walk out of town makes a real difference.³ So if the camera shows activity, it is worth stepping out of the light for a few minutes.

An accessible place for this is Ounasvaara. The hill is reachable on foot from the center and offers elevated viewpoints with a relatively dark surroundings.⁴ From there, you see with your own eyes what the camera only hints at. More locations and practical tips for an evening on your own can be found in our guide to seeing the aurora without a tour.

An evening with camera and cloud map

Here is how the interplay works in practice on a typical evening. In the afternoon you check the cloud forecast for Rovaniemi and see that the sky should clear from the evening onward. After dinner you open the Meteorological Institute page and notice that the values are slowly rising. The camera in Sodankylä still shows only stars, but the direction is right, so you start laying out warm clothes.

Half an hour later the first green arcs appear on the round camera image across the northern edge. Now is the moment to put the phone away and go outside. You dress in layers, bring a hot drink, and walk a short distance out of the city light. Outside, your eyes need a few minutes to adjust to the darkness.

When the aurora then appears above you, the camera becomes secondary. Perhaps you glance back at it later to see whether the arcs are moving further south. What matters more is that you stay outside for as long as it is glowing. Auroras come and go in waves, and after a quiet phase the sky can flare up again.

From screen to the real sky

Aurora cameras are most useful during the dark half of the year. In Rovaniemi, the season runs from late August to early April.⁷ In summer, it is too bright, and the official midnight sun period lasts from early June to early July.⁹ So if you open the images in June, you will hardly see anything even with strong activity.

If you do not want to juggle screens and cloud maps yourself, a guided night can take care of that. The tour on this site is limited to a maximum of 8 guests, lasts 8 hours, and includes pickup. The guide monitors forecasts and clouds and drives to where the sky is clear. There is also a guarantee: your money back if the conditions make an aurora viewing impossible.

A more affordable option with a money-back guarantee and photos starts from $101 per person. Whether you go alone or with a group: check the camera beforehand, review the clouds, and plan more than one evening. Then, with a bit of luck, the green glow on the screen will turn into an evening you will never forget.

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You ask,we answer.

Where can I see the aurora live online?

Right at the top of this page. In addition, the Allsky cameras of the University of Oulu: the Sodankylä Observatory shows the latest aurora images from Sodankylä and Abisko.¹

Is there a camera directly in Rovaniemi?

Yes, right at the top of this page. A live stream from Apukka Resort shows the sky above Rovaniemi, a second camera is located in Lapland. The stream loads only when you tap Play.

Why does the aurora look stronger on the camera?

Because of the long exposure. Cameras collect light over seconds and show colors more vividly than your eyes perceive them in the dark.

What does a grey camera image mean?

Mostly clouds, moonlight, or twilight. If stars are missing from the image, there are likely clouds over the camera.

What time of night is best for checking the camera?

Mostly between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m. Visit Finland describes this as the best time window of a night.¹⁰

Does the camera replace a forecast?

No, it complements it. The Finnish Meteorological Institute forecast shows the trend, the camera shows the moment.²

Is the camera not useful in summer?

Hardly, because it is too bright. The season in Rovaniemi runs from late August to early April.⁷

Sources