Is Kandalaksha or Zapolyarnyy better for the northern lights?

Zapolyarnyy sits closer to the oval, at 65.6 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 Zapolyarnyy?

Zapolyarnyy, with 19.1 hours of civil night on December 15 against 18.0 in Kandalaksha.

What Kp do Kandalaksha and Zapolyarnyy need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Kandalaksha needs about Kp 2 and Zapolyarnyy Kp 1 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Kandalaksha and Zapolyarnyy?

Kandalaksha: May 5 to August 6. Zapolyarnyy: April 28 to August 14.

Which is clearer, Kandalaksha or Zapolyarnyy?

Kandalaksha, with 79% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 83% in Zapolyarnyy (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Kandalaksha vs Zapolyarnyy for the northern lights

Answer

Zapolyarnyy sits 2.3 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 65.6 against 63.3. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Zapolyarnyy needs about Kp 1 for the average edge to sit overhead and Kandalaksha Kp 2. On the map Zapolyarnyy is also closer to the pole, by 2.3 degrees.

63.3° / 65.6°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Kandalaksha	Zapolyarnyy
Dipole latitude	63.3°	65.6°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 2	Kp 1
Civil night, December 15	18.0 h	19.1 h
Dark-season days	252	240
Nights with no civil darkness	94	109
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	79%	83%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:45	00:52

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. Zapolyarnyy sits at 65.6 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 1.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Kandalaksha has 18.0 hours of civil night and Zapolyarnyy 19.1. Across the 15th of each month, Kandalaksha is darker in 4 months and Zapolyarnyy in 5. The widest gap comes in August, when Kandalaksha has 2.4 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Kandalaksha	Zapolyarnyy	Difference
January	16.9 h	17.7 h	-0.8 h
February	13.7 h	14.0 h	-0.3 h
March	10.4 h	10.2 h	+0.2 h
April	5.9 h	5.0 h	+0.9 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	1.3 h	+2.4 h
September	8.8 h	8.4 h	+0.4 h
October	12.6 h	12.7 h	-0.1 h
November	16.0 h	16.6 h	-0.6 h
December	18.0 h	19.1 h	-1.1 h

Difference: Kandalaksha minus Zapolyarnyy. 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. Zapolyarnyy has no civil darkness from April 28 to August 14, 109 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 240 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 261 km apart by great circle. In the dark months Kandalaksha averages 79% cloud and Zapolyarnyy 83%, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Kandalaksha's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Zapolyarnyy'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 Zapolyarnyy, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Kandalaksha or Zapolyarnyy better for the northern lights?: Zapolyarnyy sits closer to the oval, at 65.6 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 Zapolyarnyy?: Zapolyarnyy, with 19.1 hours of civil night on December 15 against 18.0 in Kandalaksha.
What Kp do Kandalaksha and Zapolyarnyy need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Kandalaksha needs about Kp 2 and Zapolyarnyy Kp 1 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Kandalaksha and Zapolyarnyy?: Kandalaksha: May 5 to August 6. Zapolyarnyy: April 28 to August 14.
Which is clearer, Kandalaksha or Zapolyarnyy?: Kandalaksha, with 79% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 83% in Zapolyarnyy (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.