Is Luleå or Kiruna better for the northern lights?

Kiruna sits closer to the oval, at 65.7 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, Luleå or Kiruna?

Kiruna, with 18.3 hours of civil night on December 15 against 17.4 in Luleå.

What Kp do Luleå and Kiruna need?

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

When is it too light for aurora in Luleå and Kiruna?

Luleå: May 11 to July 31. Kiruna: May 3 to August 8.

Which is clearer, Luleå or Kiruna?

Kiruna, with 75% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 76% in Luleå (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Luleå vs Kiruna for the northern lights

Answer

Kiruna sits 2.4 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 65.7 against 63.3. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Kiruna needs about Kp 1 for the average edge to sit overhead and Luleå Kp 2. On the map Kiruna is also closer to the pole, by 2.3 degrees.

63.3° / 65.7°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Luleå	Kiruna
Dipole latitude	63.3°	65.7°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 2	Kp 1
Civil night, December 15	17.4 h	18.3 h
Dark-season days	261	248
Nights with no civil darkness	82	98
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	76%	75%
Solar midnight, December 15	23:26	23:34

Luleå 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. Kiruna 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 Luleå has 17.4 hours of civil night and Kiruna 18.3. Across the 15th of each month, Luleå is darker in 4 months and Kiruna in 5. The widest gap comes in August, when Luleå has 1.4 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Luleå	Kiruna	Difference
January	16.5 h	17.1 h	-0.6 h
February	13.6 h	13.8 h	-0.2 h
March	10.4 h	10.3 h	+0.1 h
April	6.4 h	5.7 h	+0.7 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	4.6 h	3.2 h	+1.4 h
September	9.0 h	8.7 h	+0.3 h
October	12.5 h	12.6 h	-0.1 h
November	15.6 h	16.1 h	-0.5 h
December	17.4 h	18.3 h	-0.9 h

Difference: Luleå minus Kiruna. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Luleå has no civil darkness from May 11 to July 31, 82 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 261 days. Kiruna has no civil darkness from May 3 to August 8, 98 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 248 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 266 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 75% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Luleå's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Kiruna's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Time zones: Europe/Stockholm and Europe/Stockholm.

For tonight, open the live pages for Luleå and Kiruna, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Luleå or Kiruna better for the northern lights?: Kiruna sits closer to the oval, at 65.7 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, Luleå or Kiruna?: Kiruna, with 18.3 hours of civil night on December 15 against 17.4 in Luleå.
What Kp do Luleå and Kiruna need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Luleå needs about Kp 2 and Kiruna Kp 1 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Luleå and Kiruna?: Luleå: May 11 to July 31. Kiruna: May 3 to August 8.
Which is clearer, Luleå or Kiruna?: Kiruna, with 75% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 76% in Luleå (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.