Is Gothenburg or Helsingborg better for the northern lights?

Gothenburg sits closer to the oval, at 57.4 degrees geomagnetic against 55.7. 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, Gothenburg or Helsingborg?

Gothenburg, with 15.6 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.3 in Helsingborg.

What Kp do Gothenburg and Helsingborg need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Gothenburg needs about Kp 5 and Helsingborg Kp 6 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

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

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

Which is clearer, Gothenburg or Helsingborg?

Gothenburg, with 74% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 75% in Helsingborg (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Gothenburg vs Helsingborg for the northern lights

Answer

Gothenburg sits 1.7 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 57.4 against 55.7. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Gothenburg needs about Kp 5 for the average edge to sit overhead and Helsingborg Kp 6. On the map Gothenburg is also closer to the pole, by 1.7 degrees.

57.4° / 55.7°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Gothenburg	Helsingborg
Dipole latitude	57.4°	55.7°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 5	Kp 6
Civil night, December 15	15.6 h	15.3 h
Dark-season days	323	365
Nights with no civil darkness	0	0
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	74%	75%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:07	00:04

Gothenburg sits at 57.4 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. 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 Gothenburg has 15.6 hours of civil night and Helsingborg 15.3. Across the 15th of each month, Gothenburg is darker in 4 months and Helsingborg in 6. The widest gap comes in June, when Helsingborg has 0.9 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Gothenburg	Helsingborg	Difference
January	15.0 h	14.8 h	+0.2 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	8.3 h	-0.2 h
May	5.3 h	5.8 h	-0.5 h
June	3.2 h	4.1 h	-0.9 h
July	4.3 h	4.9 h	-0.6 h
August	7.0 h	7.3 h	-0.3 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	14.2 h	+0.2 h
December	15.6 h	15.3 h	+0.3 h

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

Season and midnight sun

Gothenburg has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 323 days. 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 190 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 74% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Gothenburg's best month by civil night times clear sky is October. Helsingborg's best month by civil night times clear sky is September. Time zones: Europe/Stockholm and Europe/Stockholm.

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

Questions

Is Gothenburg or Helsingborg better for the northern lights?: Gothenburg sits closer to the oval, at 57.4 degrees geomagnetic against 55.7. 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, Gothenburg or Helsingborg?: Gothenburg, with 15.6 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.3 in Helsingborg.
What Kp do Gothenburg and Helsingborg need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Gothenburg needs about Kp 5 and Helsingborg Kp 6 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Gothenburg and Helsingborg?: Gothenburg: never, every night has civil darkness. Helsingborg: never, every night has civil darkness.
Which is clearer, Gothenburg or Helsingborg?: Gothenburg, with 74% 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.