Is Apatity or Monchegorsk better for the northern lights?

Monchegorsk sits closer to the oval, at 64.0 degrees geomagnetic against 63.6. 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, Apatity or Monchegorsk?

Monchegorsk, with 18.3 hours of civil night on December 15 against 18.2 in Apatity.

What Kp do Apatity and Monchegorsk need?

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

When is it too light for aurora in Apatity and Monchegorsk?

Apatity: May 4 to August 8. Monchegorsk: May 2 to August 9.

Which is clearer, Apatity or Monchegorsk?

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

Comparison

Apatity vs Monchegorsk for the northern lights

Answer

Monchegorsk sits 0.4 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 64.0 against 63.6. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Monchegorsk needs about Kp 2 for the average edge to sit overhead and Apatity Kp 2. On the map Monchegorsk is also closer to the pole, by 0.4 degrees.

63.6° / 64.0°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Apatity	Monchegorsk
Dipole latitude	63.6°	64.0°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 2	Kp 2
Civil night, December 15	18.2 h	18.3 h
Dark-season days	249	247
Nights with no civil darkness	97	100
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	79%	79%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:41	00:44

Apatity sits at 63.6 degrees geomagnetic, inside SWPC's 60 to 75 degree band, where aurora can be seen on more than half of all nights. No storm is needed: by SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 2. Monchegorsk sits at 64.0 degrees geomagnetic, inside SWPC's 60 to 75 degree band, where aurora can be seen on more than half of all nights. No storm is needed: by SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 2.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Apatity has 18.2 hours of civil night and Monchegorsk 18.3. Across the 15th of each month, Apatity is darker in 3 months and Monchegorsk in 3. The widest gap comes in August, when Apatity has 0.3 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Apatity	Monchegorsk	Difference
January	17.1 h	17.2 h	-0.1 h
February	13.8 h	13.8 h	+0.0 h
March	10.3 h	10.3 h	+0.0 h
April	5.8 h	5.6 h	+0.2 h
May	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
June	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
July	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
August	3.4 h	3.1 h	+0.3 h
September	8.8 h	8.7 h	+0.1 h
October	12.6 h	12.6 h	+0.0 h
November	16.1 h	16.2 h	-0.1 h
December	18.2 h	18.3 h	-0.1 h

Difference: Apatity minus Monchegorsk. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Apatity has no civil darkness from May 4 to August 8, 97 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 249 days. Monchegorsk has no civil darkness from May 2 to August 9, 100 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 247 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 46 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 79% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Apatity's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Monchegorsk's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Time zones: Europe/Moscow and Europe/Moscow.

For tonight, open the live pages for Apatity and Monchegorsk, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Apatity or Monchegorsk better for the northern lights?: Monchegorsk sits closer to the oval, at 64.0 degrees geomagnetic against 63.6. 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, Apatity or Monchegorsk?: Monchegorsk, with 18.3 hours of civil night on December 15 against 18.2 in Apatity.
What Kp do Apatity and Monchegorsk need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Apatity needs about Kp 2 and Monchegorsk Kp 2 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Apatity and Monchegorsk?: Apatity: May 4 to August 8. Monchegorsk: May 2 to August 9.
Which is clearer, Apatity or Monchegorsk?: Apatity, with 79% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 79% in Monchegorsk (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.