Is Nikel or Alta better for the northern lights?

Alta sits closer to the oval, at 67.2 degrees geomagnetic against 65.7. 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, Nikel or Alta?

Alta, with 19.4 hours of civil night on December 15 against 19.1 in Nikel.

What Kp do Nikel and Alta need?

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

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

Nikel: April 28 to August 14. Alta: April 26 to August 15.

Which is clearer, Nikel or Alta?

Alta, with 80% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 83% in Nikel (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Nikel vs Alta for the northern lights

Answer

Alta sits 1.5 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 67.2 against 65.7. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Alta needs about Kp 0 for the average edge to sit overhead and Nikel Kp 1. On the map Alta is also closer to the pole, by 0.6 degrees.

65.7° / 67.2°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Nikel	Alta
Dipole latitude	65.7°	67.2°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 1	Kp 0
Civil night, December 15	19.1 h	19.4 h
Dark-season days	240	237
Nights with no civil darkness	109	112
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	83%	80%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:54	23:22

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. Alta sits at 67.2 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 0.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Nikel has 19.1 hours of civil night and Alta 19.4. Across the 15th of each month, Nikel is darker in 4 months and Alta in 4. The widest gap comes in August, when Nikel has 1.3 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Nikel	Alta	Difference
January	17.7 h	17.9 h	-0.2 h
February	14.0 h	14.1 h	-0.1 h
March	10.2 h	10.1 h	+0.1 h
April	5.0 h	4.7 h	+0.3 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	1.3 h	0.0 h	+1.3 h
September	8.4 h	8.3 h	+0.1 h
October	12.7 h	12.7 h	+0.0 h
November	16.6 h	16.7 h	-0.1 h
December	19.1 h	19.4 h	-0.3 h

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

Season and midnight sun

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. Alta has no civil darkness from April 26 to August 15, 112 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 237 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 275 km apart by great circle. In the dark months Alta averages 80% cloud and Nikel 83%, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Nikel's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Alta's best month by civil night times clear sky is January. Time zones: Europe/Moscow and Europe/Oslo.

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

Questions

Is Nikel or Alta better for the northern lights?: Alta sits closer to the oval, at 67.2 degrees geomagnetic against 65.7. 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, Nikel or Alta?: Alta, with 19.4 hours of civil night on December 15 against 19.1 in Nikel.
What Kp do Nikel and Alta need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Nikel needs about Kp 1 and Alta Kp 0 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Nikel and Alta?: Nikel: April 28 to August 14. Alta: April 26 to August 15.
Which is clearer, Nikel or Alta?: Alta, with 80% 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.