Is Kemi or Nikel better for the northern lights?

Nikel sits closer to the oval, at 65.7 degrees geomagnetic against 63.1. 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, Kemi or Nikel?

Nikel, with 19.1 hours of civil night on December 15 against 17.5 in Kemi.

What Kp do Kemi and Nikel need?

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

When is it too light for aurora in Kemi and Nikel?

Kemi: May 10 to August 1. Nikel: April 28 to August 14.

Which is clearer, Kemi or Nikel?

Kemi, with 76% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 83% in Nikel (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Kemi vs Nikel for the northern lights

Answer

Nikel sits 2.6 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 65.7 against 63.1. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Nikel needs about Kp 1 for the average edge to sit overhead and Kemi Kp 2. On the map Nikel is also closer to the pole, by 3.7 degrees.

63.1° / 65.7°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Kemi	Nikel
Dipole latitude	63.1°	65.7°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 2	Kp 1
Civil night, December 15	17.5 h	19.1 h
Dark-season days	260	240
Nights with no civil darkness	84	109
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	76%	83%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:17	00:54

Kemi sits at 63.1 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 2. Nikel sits at 65.7 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 Kemi has 17.5 hours of civil night and Nikel 19.1. Across the 15th of each month, Kemi is darker in 4 months and Nikel in 5. The widest gap comes in August, when Kemi has 3.2 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Kemi	Nikel	Difference
January	16.5 h	17.7 h	-1.2 h
February	13.6 h	14.0 h	-0.4 h
March	10.4 h	10.2 h	+0.2 h
April	6.4 h	5.0 h	+1.4 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	4.5 h	1.3 h	+3.2 h
September	9.0 h	8.4 h	+0.6 h
October	12.5 h	12.7 h	-0.2 h
November	15.7 h	16.6 h	-0.9 h
December	17.5 h	19.1 h	-1.6 h

Difference: Kemi minus Nikel. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Kemi has no civil darkness from May 10 to August 1, 84 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 260 days. Nikel 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 474 km apart by great circle. In the dark months Kemi averages 76% cloud and Nikel 83%, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Kemi's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Nikel's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Time zones: Europe/Helsinki and Europe/Moscow.

For tonight, open the live pages for Kemi and Nikel, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Kemi or Nikel better for the northern lights?: Nikel sits closer to the oval, at 65.7 degrees geomagnetic against 63.1. 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, Kemi or Nikel?: Nikel, with 19.1 hours of civil night on December 15 against 17.5 in Kemi.
What Kp do Kemi and Nikel need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Kemi needs about Kp 2 and Nikel Kp 1 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Kemi and Nikel?: Kemi: May 10 to August 1. Nikel: April 28 to August 14.
Which is clearer, Kemi or Nikel?: Kemi, with 76% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 83% in Nikel (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.