Is Kandalaksha or Polyarnyye Zori better for the northern lights?

Polyarnyye Zori sits closer to the oval, at 63.5 degrees geomagnetic against 63.3. 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, Kandalaksha or Polyarnyye Zori?

Polyarnyye Zori, with 18.1 hours of civil night on December 15 against 18.0 in Kandalaksha.

What Kp do Kandalaksha and Polyarnyye Zori need?

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

When is it too light for aurora in Kandalaksha and Polyarnyye Zori?

Kandalaksha: May 5 to August 6. Polyarnyye Zori: May 4 to August 7.

Which is clearer, Kandalaksha or Polyarnyye Zori?

Kandalaksha, with 79% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 79% in Polyarnyye Zori (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Kandalaksha vs Polyarnyye Zori for the northern lights

Answer

Polyarnyye Zori sits 0.2 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 63.5 against 63.3. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Polyarnyye Zori needs about Kp 2 for the average edge to sit overhead and Kandalaksha Kp 2. On the map Polyarnyye Zori is also closer to the pole, by 0.2 degrees.

63.3° / 63.5°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Kandalaksha	Polyarnyye Zori
Dipole latitude	63.3°	63.5°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 2	Kp 2
Civil night, December 15	18.0 h	18.1 h
Dark-season days	252	251
Nights with no civil darkness	94	96
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	79%	79%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:45	00:45

Kandalaksha sits at 63.3 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 2. Polyarnyye Zori sits at 63.5 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 2.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Kandalaksha has 18.0 hours of civil night and Polyarnyye Zori 18.1. Across the 15th of each month, Kandalaksha is darker in 3 months and Polyarnyye Zori in 3. The widest gap comes in January, when Polyarnyye Zori has 0.1 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Kandalaksha	Polyarnyye Zori	Difference
January	16.9 h	17.0 h	-0.1 h
February	13.7 h	13.8 h	-0.1 h
March	10.4 h	10.3 h	+0.1 h
April	5.9 h	5.8 h	+0.1 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	3.6 h	+0.1 h
September	8.8 h	8.8 h	+0.0 h
October	12.6 h	12.6 h	+0.0 h
November	16.0 h	16.0 h	+0.0 h
December	18.0 h	18.1 h	-0.1 h

Difference: Kandalaksha minus Polyarnyye Zori. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Kandalaksha 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 252 days. Polyarnyye Zori has no civil darkness from May 4 to August 7, 96 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 251 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 24 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 79% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Kandalaksha's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Polyarnyye Zori's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Time zones: Europe/Moscow and Europe/Moscow.

For tonight, open the live pages for Kandalaksha and Polyarnyye Zori, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Kandalaksha or Polyarnyye Zori better for the northern lights?: Polyarnyye Zori sits closer to the oval, at 63.5 degrees geomagnetic against 63.3. 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, Kandalaksha or Polyarnyye Zori?: Polyarnyye Zori, with 18.1 hours of civil night on December 15 against 18.0 in Kandalaksha.
What Kp do Kandalaksha and Polyarnyye Zori need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Kandalaksha needs about Kp 2 and Polyarnyye Zori Kp 2 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Kandalaksha and Polyarnyye Zori?: Kandalaksha: May 5 to August 6. Polyarnyye Zori: May 4 to August 7.
Which is clearer, Kandalaksha or Polyarnyye Zori?: Kandalaksha, with 79% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 79% in Polyarnyye Zori (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.