Is Harstad or Alta better for the northern lights?

Alta sits closer to the oval, at 67.2 degrees geomagnetic against 67.1. 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, Harstad or Alta?

Alta, with 19.4 hours of civil night on December 15 against 18.7 in Harstad.

What Kp do Harstad and Alta need?

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

When is it too light for aurora in Harstad and Alta?

Harstad: April 30 to August 12. Alta: April 26 to August 15.

Which is clearer, Harstad or Alta?

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

Comparison

Harstad vs Alta for the northern lights

Answer

Alta sits 0.1 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 67.2 against 67.1. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Alta needs about Kp 0 for the average edge to sit overhead and Harstad Kp 0. On the map Alta is also closer to the pole, by 1.2 degrees.

67.1° / 67.2°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Harstad	Alta
Dipole latitude	67.1°	67.2°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 0	Kp 0
Civil night, December 15	18.7 h	19.4 h
Dark-season days	243	237
Nights with no civil darkness	105	112
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	82%	80%
Solar midnight, December 15	23:49	23:22

Harstad sits at 67.1 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. Alta sits at 67.2 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 0.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Harstad has 18.7 hours of civil night and Alta 19.4. Across the 15th of each month, Harstad is darker in 4 months and Alta in 5. The widest gap comes in August, when Harstad has 2.3 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Harstad	Alta	Difference
January	17.5 h	17.9 h	-0.4 h
February	13.9 h	14.1 h	-0.2 h
March	10.2 h	10.1 h	+0.1 h
April	5.3 h	4.7 h	+0.6 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	2.3 h	0.0 h	+2.3 h
September	8.6 h	8.3 h	+0.3 h
October	12.6 h	12.7 h	-0.1 h
November	16.4 h	16.7 h	-0.3 h
December	18.7 h	19.4 h	-0.7 h

Difference: Harstad minus Alta. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Harstad has no civil darkness from April 30 to August 12, 105 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 243 days. Alta has no civil darkness from April 26 to August 15, 112 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 237 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 294 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 81% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Harstad's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Alta'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 Harstad and Alta, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Harstad or Alta better for the northern lights?: Alta sits closer to the oval, at 67.2 degrees geomagnetic against 67.1. 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, Harstad or Alta?: Alta, with 19.4 hours of civil night on December 15 against 18.7 in Harstad.
What Kp do Harstad and Alta need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Harstad needs about Kp 0 and Alta Kp 0 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Harstad and Alta?: Harstad: April 30 to August 12. Alta: April 26 to August 15.
Which is clearer, Harstad or Alta?: Alta, with 80% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 82% in Harstad (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.