Is Copenhagen or Helsingborg better for the northern lights?

Helsingborg sits closer to the oval, at 55.7 degrees geomagnetic against 55.3. 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, Copenhagen or Helsingborg?

Copenhagen, with 15.3 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.3 in Helsingborg.

What Kp do Copenhagen and Helsingborg need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Copenhagen needs about Kp 6 and Helsingborg Kp 6 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Copenhagen and Helsingborg?

Copenhagen: never, every night has civil darkness. Helsingborg: never, every night has civil darkness.

Which is clearer, Copenhagen or Helsingborg?

Copenhagen, with 70% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 75% in Helsingborg (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Copenhagen vs Helsingborg for the northern lights

Answer

Helsingborg sits 0.3 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 55.7 against 55.3. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Helsingborg needs about Kp 6 for the average edge to sit overhead and Copenhagen Kp 6. On the map Helsingborg is also closer to the pole, by 0.4 degrees.

55.3° / 55.7°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Copenhagen	Helsingborg
Dipole latitude	55.3°	55.7°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 6	Kp 6
Civil night, December 15	15.3 h	15.3 h
Dark-season days	365	365
Nights with no civil darkness	0	0
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	70%	75%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:05	00:04

Copenhagen sits at 55.3 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Helsingborg sits at 55.7 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Copenhagen has 15.3 hours of civil night and Helsingborg 15.3. Across the 15th of each month, Copenhagen is darker in 4 months and Helsingborg in 1. The widest gap comes in July, when Copenhagen has 0.2 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Copenhagen	Helsingborg	Difference
January	14.7 h	14.8 h	-0.1 h
February	12.9 h	12.9 h	+0.0 h
March	10.8 h	10.8 h	+0.0 h
April	8.3 h	8.3 h	+0.0 h
May	5.9 h	5.8 h	+0.1 h
June	4.2 h	4.1 h	+0.1 h
July	5.1 h	4.9 h	+0.2 h
August	7.4 h	7.3 h	+0.1 h
September	9.9 h	9.9 h	+0.0 h
October	12.2 h	12.2 h	+0.0 h
November	14.2 h	14.2 h	+0.0 h
December	15.3 h	15.3 h	+0.0 h

Difference: Copenhagen minus Helsingborg. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Copenhagen has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and clears Glow's 4-hour dark-season bar every evening. Helsingborg 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 42 km apart by great circle. In the dark months Copenhagen averages 70% cloud and Helsingborg 75%, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Copenhagen's best month by civil night times clear sky is September. Helsingborg's best month by civil night times clear sky is September. Time zones: Europe/Copenhagen and Europe/Stockholm.

For tonight, open the live pages for Copenhagen and Helsingborg, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Copenhagen or Helsingborg better for the northern lights?: Helsingborg sits closer to the oval, at 55.7 degrees geomagnetic against 55.3. 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, Copenhagen or Helsingborg?: Copenhagen, with 15.3 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.3 in Helsingborg.
What Kp do Copenhagen and Helsingborg need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Copenhagen needs about Kp 6 and Helsingborg Kp 6 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Copenhagen and Helsingborg?: Copenhagen: never, every night has civil darkness. Helsingborg: never, every night has civil darkness.
Which is clearer, Copenhagen or Helsingborg?: Copenhagen, with 70% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 75% in Helsingborg (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.