Is Linköping or Västerås better for the northern lights?

Västerås sits closer to the oval, at 58.5 degrees geomagnetic against 57.5. 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, Linköping or Västerås?

Västerås, with 15.9 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.7 in Linköping.

What Kp do Linköping and Västerås need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Linköping needs about Kp 5 and Västerås Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Linköping and Västerås?

Linköping: never, every night has civil darkness. Västerås: never, every night has civil darkness.

Which is clearer, Linköping or Västerås?

Linköping, with 73% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 77% in Västerås (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Linköping vs Västerås for the northern lights

Answer

Västerås sits 1.0 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 58.5 against 57.5. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Västerås needs about Kp 4 for the average edge to sit overhead and Linköping Kp 5. On the map Västerås is also closer to the pole, by 1.2 degrees.

57.5° / 58.5°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Linköping	Västerås
Dipole latitude	57.5°	58.5°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 5	Kp 4
Civil night, December 15	15.7 h	15.9 h
Dark-season days	315	303
Nights with no civil darkness	0	0
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	73%	77%
Solar midnight, December 15	23:53	23:49

Linköping sits at 57.5 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. Västerås sits at 58.5 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Linköping has 15.7 hours of civil night and Västerås 15.9. Across the 15th of each month, Linköping is darker in 7 months and Västerås in 3. The widest gap comes in June, when Linköping has 1.1 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Linköping	Västerås	Difference
January	15.1 h	15.3 h	-0.2 h
February	13.1 h	13.1 h	+0.0 h
March	10.8 h	10.7 h	+0.1 h
April	7.9 h	7.8 h	+0.1 h
May	5.1 h	4.6 h	+0.5 h
June	2.7 h	1.6 h	+1.1 h
July	4.0 h	3.3 h	+0.7 h
August	6.9 h	6.6 h	+0.3 h
September	9.7 h	9.6 h	+0.1 h
October	12.3 h	12.3 h	+0.0 h
November	14.5 h	14.7 h	-0.2 h
December	15.7 h	15.9 h	-0.2 h

Difference: Linköping minus Västerås. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Linköping has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 315 days. Västerås has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 303 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 144 km apart by great circle. In the dark months Linköping averages 73% cloud and Västerås 77%, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Linköping's best month by civil night times clear sky is October. Västerås's best month by civil night times clear sky is November. Time zones: Europe/Stockholm and Europe/Stockholm.

For tonight, open the live pages for Linköping and Västerås, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Linköping or Västerås better for the northern lights?: Västerås sits closer to the oval, at 58.5 degrees geomagnetic against 57.5. 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, Linköping or Västerås?: Västerås, with 15.9 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.7 in Linköping.
What Kp do Linköping and Västerås need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Linköping needs about Kp 5 and Västerås Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Linköping and Västerås?: Linköping: never, every night has civil darkness. Västerås: never, every night has civil darkness.
Which is clearer, Linköping or Västerås?: Linköping, with 73% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 77% in Västerås (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.