Is Oslo or Gjøvik better for the northern lights?

Gjøvik sits closer to the oval, at 60.5 degrees geomagnetic against 59.7. 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, Oslo or Gjøvik?

Gjøvik, with 16.2 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.0 in Oslo.

What Kp do Oslo and Gjøvik need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Oslo needs about Kp 4 and Gjøvik Kp 3 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Oslo and Gjøvik?

Oslo: never, every night has civil darkness. Gjøvik: June 6 to July 4.

Which is clearer, Oslo or Gjøvik?

Gjøvik, with 73% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 76% in Oslo (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Oslo vs Gjøvik for the northern lights

Answer

Gjøvik sits 0.8 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 60.5 against 59.7. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Gjøvik needs about Kp 3 for the average edge to sit overhead and Oslo Kp 4. On the map Gjøvik is also closer to the pole, by 0.9 degrees.

59.7° / 60.5°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Oslo	Gjøvik
Dipole latitude	59.7°	60.5°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 4	Kp 3
Civil night, December 15	16.0 h	16.2 h
Dark-season days	301	293
Nights with no civil darkness	0	29
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	76%	73%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:12	00:12

Oslo sits at 59.7 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. Gjøvik 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.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Oslo has 16.0 hours of civil night and Gjøvik 16.2. Across the 15th of each month, Oslo is darker in 6 months and Gjøvik in 3. The widest gap comes in June, when Oslo has 1.1 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Oslo	Gjøvik	Difference
January	15.3 h	15.5 h	-0.2 h
February	13.2 h	13.2 h	+0.0 h
March	10.7 h	10.7 h	+0.0 h
April	7.7 h	7.5 h	+0.2 h
May	4.5 h	4.1 h	+0.4 h
June	1.1 h	0.0 h	+1.1 h
July	3.1 h	2.4 h	+0.7 h
August	6.5 h	6.3 h	+0.2 h
September	9.6 h	9.5 h	+0.1 h
October	12.3 h	12.3 h	+0.0 h
November	14.7 h	14.8 h	-0.1 h
December	16.0 h	16.2 h	-0.2 h

Difference: Oslo minus Gjøvik. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Oslo has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 301 days. Gjøvik has no civil darkness from June 6 to July 4, 29 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 293 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 98 km apart by great circle. In the dark months Gjøvik averages 73% cloud and Oslo 76%, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Oslo's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Gjøvik's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Time zones: Europe/Oslo and Europe/Oslo.

For tonight, open the live pages for Oslo and Gjøvik, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Oslo or Gjøvik better for the northern lights?: Gjøvik sits closer to the oval, at 60.5 degrees geomagnetic against 59.7. 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, Oslo or Gjøvik?: Gjøvik, with 16.2 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.0 in Oslo.
What Kp do Oslo and Gjøvik need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Oslo needs about Kp 4 and Gjøvik Kp 3 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Oslo and Gjøvik?: Oslo: never, every night has civil darkness. Gjøvik: June 6 to July 4.
Which is clearer, Oslo or Gjøvik?: Gjøvik, with 73% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 76% in Oslo (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.