Comparison
Calgary vs Edmonton for the northern lights
Answer
Side by side
| Figure | Calgary | Edmonton |
|---|---|---|
| Dipole latitude | 57.5° | 60.0° |
| Kp for the oval edge overhead | Kp 5 | Kp 3 |
| Civil night, December 15 | 14.6 h | 15.0 h |
| Dark-season days | 365 | 365 |
| Nights with no civil darkness | 0 | 0 |
| Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER | 67% | 67% |
| Solar midnight, December 15 | 01:32 | 01:29 |
Calgary sits at 57.5 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 5, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Edmonton sits at 60.0 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 3.
Civil night month by month
On December 15 Calgary has 14.6 hours of civil night and Edmonton 15.0. Across the 15th of each month, Calgary is darker in 6 months and Edmonton in 5. The widest gap comes in June, when Calgary has 0.8 more hours.
| Month | Calgary | Edmonton | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 14.2 h | 14.5 h | -0.3 h |
| February | 12.7 h | 12.8 h | -0.1 h |
| March | 10.9 h | 10.9 h | +0.0 h |
| April | 8.8 h | 8.6 h | +0.2 h |
| May | 6.9 h | 6.4 h | +0.5 h |
| June | 5.8 h | 5.0 h | +0.8 h |
| July | 6.3 h | 5.7 h | +0.6 h |
| August | 8.1 h | 7.8 h | +0.3 h |
| September | 10.2 h | 10.1 h | +0.1 h |
| October | 12.1 h | 12.2 h | -0.1 h |
| November | 13.8 h | 14.0 h | -0.2 h |
| December | 14.6 h | 15.0 h | -0.4 h |
Season and midnight sun
Calgary has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and clears Glow's 4-hour dark-season bar every evening. Edmonton has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and clears Glow's 4-hour dark-season bar every evening.
Distance, cloud and time zones
The two towns are 281 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 67% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Calgary's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Edmonton's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Time zones: America/Edmonton and America/Edmonton.
For tonight, open the live pages for Calgary and Edmonton, which carry the live OVATION cell.
Questions
- Is Calgary or Edmonton better for the northern lights?
- Edmonton sits closer to the oval, at 60.0 degrees geomagnetic against 57.5. 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, Calgary or Edmonton?
- Edmonton, with 15.0 hours of civil night on December 15 against 14.6 in Calgary.
- What Kp do Calgary and Edmonton need?
- By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Calgary needs about Kp 5 and Edmonton Kp 3 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
- When is it too light for aurora in Calgary and Edmonton?
- Calgary: never, every night has civil darkness. Edmonton: never, every night has civil darkness.
- Which is clearer, Calgary or Edmonton?
- Edmonton, with 67% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 67% in Calgary (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.