Is Aberdeen or Dundee better for the northern lights?

Aberdeen sits closer to the oval, at 59.1 degrees geomagnetic against 58.6. Darkness, cloud and your dates decide the rest; the tables on this page show both towns month by month.

Which has longer nights in December, Aberdeen or Dundee?

Aberdeen, with 15.5 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.4 in Dundee.

What Kp do Aberdeen and Dundee need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Aberdeen needs about Kp 4 and Dundee Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Aberdeen and Dundee?

Aberdeen: never, every night has civil darkness. Dundee: never, every night has civil darkness.

Which is clearer, Aberdeen or Dundee?

Aberdeen, with 78% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 79% in Dundee (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Aberdeen vs Dundee for the northern lights

Answer

Aberdeen sits 0.5 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 59.1 against 58.6. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Aberdeen needs about Kp 4 for the average edge to sit overhead and Dundee Kp 4. On the map Aberdeen is also closer to the pole, by 0.7 degrees.

59.1° / 58.6°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Aberdeen	Dundee
Dipole latitude	59.1°	58.6°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 4	Kp 4
Civil night, December 15	15.5 h	15.4 h
Dark-season days	332	346
Nights with no civil darkness	0	0
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	78%	79%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:04	00:07

Aberdeen sits at 59.1 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Dundee sits at 58.6 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Aberdeen has 15.5 hours of civil night and Dundee 15.4. Across the 15th of each month, Aberdeen is darker in 4 months and Dundee in 6. The widest gap comes in June, when Dundee has 0.4 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Aberdeen	Dundee	Difference
January	14.9 h	14.8 h	+0.1 h
February	13.0 h	12.9 h	+0.1 h
March	10.8 h	10.8 h	+0.0 h
April	8.1 h	8.2 h	-0.1 h
May	5.5 h	5.7 h	-0.2 h
June	3.5 h	3.9 h	-0.4 h
July	4.5 h	4.8 h	-0.3 h
August	7.1 h	7.3 h	-0.2 h
September	9.8 h	9.9 h	-0.1 h
October	12.2 h	12.2 h	+0.0 h
November	14.4 h	14.3 h	+0.1 h
December	15.5 h	15.4 h	+0.1 h

Difference: Aberdeen minus Dundee. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Aberdeen has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 332 days. Dundee has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 346 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 92 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 79% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Aberdeen's best month by civil night times clear sky is November. Dundee's best month by civil night times clear sky is November. Time zones: Europe/London and Europe/London.

For tonight, open the live pages for Aberdeen and Dundee, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Aberdeen or Dundee better for the northern lights?: Aberdeen sits closer to the oval, at 59.1 degrees geomagnetic against 58.6. Darkness, cloud and your dates decide the rest; the tables on this page show both towns month by month.
Which has longer nights in December, Aberdeen or Dundee?: Aberdeen, with 15.5 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.4 in Dundee.
What Kp do Aberdeen and Dundee need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Aberdeen needs about Kp 4 and Dundee Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Aberdeen and Dundee?: Aberdeen: never, every night has civil darkness. Dundee: never, every night has civil darkness.
Which is clearer, Aberdeen or Dundee?: Aberdeen, with 78% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 79% in Dundee (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Sources and verification

IGRF-14 coefficients, NOAA NCEIhttps://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/IAGA/vmod/coeffs/igrf14coeffs.txt
SunCalchttps://github.com/mourner/suncalc
GeoNameshttps://www.geonames.org/export/
NASA POWER climatologyhttps://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/climatology/
NOAA SWPC, Tips on viewing the aurorahttps://www.spaceweather.gov/content/tips-viewing-aurora

Quoted figures last checked against their sources on 2026-09-30; next review 2026-12-31. Computed figures come from SunCalc and the IGRF-14 dipole as described in the methodology. Every quote is listed in the sources ledger.