Is Trondheim or Kristiansund better for the northern lights?

Kristiansund sits closer to the oval, at 63.2 degrees geomagnetic against 63.0. 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, Trondheim or Kristiansund?

Trondheim, with 16.8 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.7 in Kristiansund.

What Kp do Trondheim and Kristiansund need?

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

When is it too light for aurora in Trondheim and Kristiansund?

Trondheim: May 20 to July 22. Kristiansund: May 22 to July 20.

Which is clearer, Trondheim or Kristiansund?

Trondheim, with 80% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 81% in Kristiansund (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Trondheim vs Kristiansund for the northern lights

Answer

Kristiansund sits 0.1 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 63.2 against 63.0. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Kristiansund needs about Kp 2 for the average edge to sit overhead and Trondheim Kp 2. That reverses the map, where Trondheim is 0.3 degrees closer to the pole.

63.0° / 63.2°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Trondheim	Kristiansund
Dipole latitude	63.0°	63.2°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 2	Kp 2
Civil night, December 15	16.8 h	16.7 h
Dark-season days	275	277
Nights with no civil darkness	64	60
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	80%	81%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:14	00:24

Trondheim sits at 63.0 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. Kristiansund sits at 63.2 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 2.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Trondheim has 16.8 hours of civil night and Kristiansund 16.7. Across the 15th of each month, Trondheim is darker in 2 months and Kristiansund in 3. The widest gap comes in May, when Kristiansund has 0.4 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Trondheim	Kristiansund	Difference
January	16.0 h	15.9 h	+0.1 h
February	13.4 h	13.4 h	+0.0 h
March	10.6 h	10.6 h	+0.0 h
April	7.0 h	7.1 h	-0.1 h
May	2.2 h	2.6 h	-0.4 h
June	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
July	0.0 h	0.0 h	+0.0 h
August	5.5 h	5.6 h	-0.1 h
September	9.3 h	9.3 h	+0.0 h
October	12.4 h	12.4 h	+0.0 h
November	15.2 h	15.2 h	+0.0 h
December	16.8 h	16.7 h	+0.1 h

Difference: Trondheim minus Kristiansund. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Trondheim has no civil darkness from May 20 to July 22, 64 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 275 days. Kristiansund has no civil darkness from May 22 to July 20, 60 nights in 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 277 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 138 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 81% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Trondheim's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Kristiansund's best month by civil night times clear sky is November. Time zones: Europe/Oslo and Europe/Oslo.

For tonight, open the live pages for Trondheim and Kristiansund, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Trondheim or Kristiansund better for the northern lights?: Kristiansund sits closer to the oval, at 63.2 degrees geomagnetic against 63.0. 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, Trondheim or Kristiansund?: Trondheim, with 16.8 hours of civil night on December 15 against 16.7 in Kristiansund.
What Kp do Trondheim and Kristiansund need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Trondheim needs about Kp 2 and Kristiansund Kp 2 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Trondheim and Kristiansund?: Trondheim: May 20 to July 22. Kristiansund: May 22 to July 20.
Which is clearer, Trondheim or Kristiansund?: Trondheim, with 80% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 81% in Kristiansund (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.