Is Stoke-on-Trent or Chesterfield better for the northern lights?

Chesterfield sits closer to the oval, at 55.2 degrees geomagnetic against 55.1. 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, Stoke-on-Trent or Chesterfield?

Stoke-on-Trent, with 14.9 hours of civil night on December 15 against 14.9 in Chesterfield.

What Kp do Stoke-on-Trent and Chesterfield need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Stoke-on-Trent needs about Kp 6 and Chesterfield Kp 6 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Stoke-on-Trent and Chesterfield?

Stoke-on-Trent: never, every night has civil darkness. Chesterfield: never, every night has civil darkness.

Which is clearer, Stoke-on-Trent or Chesterfield?

Chesterfield, with 74% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 77% in Stoke-on-Trent (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Stoke-on-Trent vs Chesterfield for the northern lights

Answer

Chesterfield sits 0.1 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 55.2 against 55.1. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Chesterfield needs about Kp 6 for the average edge to sit overhead and Stoke-on-Trent Kp 6. On the map Chesterfield is also closer to the pole, by 0.2 degrees.

55.1° / 55.2°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Stoke-on-Trent	Chesterfield
Dipole latitude	55.1°	55.2°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 6	Kp 6
Civil night, December 15	14.9 h	14.9 h
Dark-season days	365	365
Nights with no civil darkness	0	0
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	77%	74%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:04	00:01

Stoke-on-Trent sits at 55.1 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Chesterfield sits at 55.2 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Stoke-on-Trent has 14.9 hours of civil night and Chesterfield 14.9. Across the 15th of each month, Stoke-on-Trent is darker in 2 months and Chesterfield in 1. The widest gap comes in June, when Stoke-on-Trent has 0.1 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Stoke-on-Trent	Chesterfield	Difference
January	14.4 h	14.4 h	+0.0 h
February	12.8 h	12.8 h	+0.0 h
March	10.9 h	10.9 h	+0.0 h
April	8.6 h	8.6 h	+0.0 h
May	6.5 h	6.5 h	+0.0 h
June	5.2 h	5.1 h	+0.1 h
July	5.9 h	5.8 h	+0.1 h
August	7.8 h	7.8 h	+0.0 h
September	10.1 h	10.1 h	+0.0 h
October	12.1 h	12.1 h	+0.0 h
November	13.9 h	14.0 h	-0.1 h
December	14.9 h	14.9 h	+0.0 h

Difference: Stoke-on-Trent minus Chesterfield. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Stoke-on-Trent has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and clears Glow's 4-hour dark-season bar every evening. Chesterfield has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and clears Glow's 4-hour dark-season bar every evening.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 58 km apart by great circle. In the dark months Chesterfield averages 74% cloud and Stoke-on-Trent 77%, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Stoke-on-Trent's best month by civil night times clear sky is February. Chesterfield's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Time zones: Europe/London and Europe/London.

For tonight, open the live pages for Stoke-on-Trent and Chesterfield, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Stoke-on-Trent or Chesterfield better for the northern lights?: Chesterfield sits closer to the oval, at 55.2 degrees geomagnetic against 55.1. 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, Stoke-on-Trent or Chesterfield?: Stoke-on-Trent, with 14.9 hours of civil night on December 15 against 14.9 in Chesterfield.
What Kp do Stoke-on-Trent and Chesterfield need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Stoke-on-Trent needs about Kp 6 and Chesterfield Kp 6 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Stoke-on-Trent and Chesterfield?: Stoke-on-Trent: never, every night has civil darkness. Chesterfield: never, every night has civil darkness.
Which is clearer, Stoke-on-Trent or Chesterfield?: Chesterfield, with 74% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 77% in Stoke-on-Trent (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.