Is Norilsk or Dudinka better for the northern lights?

Dudinka sits closer to the oval, at 60.6 degrees geomagnetic against 60.5. 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, Norilsk or Dudinka?

Norilsk, with 19.0 hours of civil night on December 15 against 19.0 in Dudinka.

What Kp do Norilsk and Dudinka need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Norilsk needs about Kp 3 and Dudinka Kp 3 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Norilsk and Dudinka?

Norilsk: April 28 to August 14. Dudinka: April 28 to August 14.

Which is clearer, Norilsk or Dudinka?

Norilsk, with 66% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 67% in Dudinka (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Norilsk vs Dudinka for the northern lights

Answer

Dudinka sits 0.1 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 60.6 against 60.5. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Dudinka needs about Kp 3 for the average edge to sit overhead and Norilsk Kp 3. On the map Dudinka is also closer to the pole, by 0.1 degrees.

60.5° / 60.6°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Norilsk	Dudinka
Dipole latitude	60.5°	60.6°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 3	Kp 3
Civil night, December 15	19.0 h	19.0 h
Dark-season days	240	240
Nights with no civil darkness	109	109
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	66%	67%
Solar midnight, December 15	01:02	01:10

Norilsk sits at 60.5 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 3. Dudinka sits at 60.6 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 3.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Norilsk has 19.0 hours of civil night and Dudinka 19.0. Across the 15th of each month, Norilsk is darker in 1 months and Dudinka in 0. The widest gap comes in August, when Norilsk has 0.1 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Norilsk	Dudinka	Difference
January	17.7 h	17.7 h	+0.0 h
February	14.0 h	14.0 h	+0.0 h
March	10.2 h	10.2 h	+0.0 h
April	5.0 h	5.0 h	+0.0 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	1.2 h	+0.1 h
September	8.4 h	8.4 h	+0.0 h
October	12.6 h	12.6 h	+0.0 h
November	16.5 h	16.5 h	+0.0 h
December	19.0 h	19.0 h	+0.0 h

Difference: Norilsk minus Dudinka. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Norilsk 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. Dudinka 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 80 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 66% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Norilsk's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Dudinka's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Time zones: Asia/Krasnoyarsk and Asia/Krasnoyarsk.

For tonight, open the live pages for Norilsk and Dudinka, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Norilsk or Dudinka better for the northern lights?: Dudinka sits closer to the oval, at 60.6 degrees geomagnetic against 60.5. 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, Norilsk or Dudinka?: Norilsk, with 19.0 hours of civil night on December 15 against 19.0 in Dudinka.
What Kp do Norilsk and Dudinka need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Norilsk needs about Kp 3 and Dudinka Kp 3 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Norilsk and Dudinka?: Norilsk: April 28 to August 14. Dudinka: April 28 to August 14.
Which is clearer, Norilsk or Dudinka?: Norilsk, with 66% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 67% in Dudinka (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.