Is Bodø or Mo i Rana better for the northern lights?

Bodø sits closer to the oval, at 66.0 degrees geomagnetic against 65.2. 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, Bodø or Mo i Rana?

Bodø, with 18.0 hours of civil night on December 15 against 17.7 in Mo i Rana.

What Kp do Bodø and Mo i Rana need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Bodø needs about Kp 0 and Mo i Rana Kp 1 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Bodø and Mo i Rana?

Bodø: May 5 to August 6. Mo i Rana: May 8 to August 3.

Which is clearer, Bodø or Mo i Rana?

Mo i Rana, with 80% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 82% in Bodø (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Bodø vs Mo i Rana for the northern lights

Answer

Bodø sits 0.9 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 66.0 against 65.2. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Bodø needs about Kp 0 for the average edge to sit overhead and Mo i Rana Kp 1. On the map Bodø is also closer to the pole, by 1.0 degrees.

66.0° / 65.2°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Bodø	Mo i Rana
Dipole latitude	66.0°	65.2°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 0	Kp 1
Civil night, December 15	18.0 h	17.7 h
Dark-season days	251	257
Nights with no civil darkness	94	88
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	82%	80%
Solar midnight, December 15	23:58	23:59

Bodø sits at 66.0 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 0. Mo i Rana sits at 65.2 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 1.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Bodø has 18.0 hours of civil night and Mo i Rana 17.7. Across the 15th of each month, Bodø is darker in 5 months and Mo i Rana in 4. The widest gap comes in August, when Mo i Rana has 0.6 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Bodø	Mo i Rana	Difference
January	17.0 h	16.7 h	+0.3 h
February	13.8 h	13.7 h	+0.1 h
March	10.3 h	10.4 h	-0.1 h
April	5.9 h	6.2 h	-0.3 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	3.7 h	4.3 h	-0.6 h
September	8.8 h	8.9 h	-0.1 h
October	12.6 h	12.5 h	+0.1 h
November	16.0 h	15.8 h	+0.2 h
December	18.0 h	17.7 h	+0.3 h

Difference: Bodø minus Mo i Rana. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Bodø has no civil darkness from May 5 to August 6, 94 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 251 days. Mo i Rana has no civil darkness from May 8 to August 3, 88 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 257 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 108 km apart by great circle. In the dark months Mo i Rana averages 80% cloud and Bodø 82%, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Bodø's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Mo i Rana's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Time zones: Europe/Oslo and Europe/Oslo.

For tonight, open the live pages for Bodø and Mo i Rana, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Bodø or Mo i Rana better for the northern lights?: Bodø sits closer to the oval, at 66.0 degrees geomagnetic against 65.2. 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, Bodø or Mo i Rana?: Bodø, with 18.0 hours of civil night on December 15 against 17.7 in Mo i Rana.
What Kp do Bodø and Mo i Rana need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Bodø needs about Kp 0 and Mo i Rana Kp 1 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Bodø and Mo i Rana?: Bodø: May 5 to August 6. Mo i Rana: May 8 to August 3.
Which is clearer, Bodø or Mo i Rana?: Mo i Rana, with 80% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 82% in Bodø (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.