1 towns · northern lights
Aurora towns in Aland Islands
Answer
Where the towns sit
Of the 1 indexed towns in Aland Islands, 1 sit between 55 and 60 degrees, where G1 (Kp 5) or less usually brings aurora into view.
Darkness and cloud
On December 15 the median town gets 16.0 hours of civil night. Mariehamn has the most at 16.0 hours and Mariehamn the least at 16.0. 1 of these towns lose civil darkness altogether around the June solstice; Mariehamn goes longest, 5 nights.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology puts median cloud amount in the dark months at 73%. Mariehamn is clearest at 73% and Mariehamn cloudiest at 73%. These are all-hours averages for 1 degree cells, not forecasts.
Best month, town by town
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky, September comes out best for 1 of the 1 towns. SWPC notes a tendency toward larger storms near the equinoxes, which this score does not include.
Every town
| Town | Region | Dipole | Storm needed | Dec 15 night | Dark-month cloud | Best month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mariehamn | Mariehamn | 58.4° | G1 or less | 16.0 h | 73% | Sep |
Regions
The towns fall in 1 first-level regions. Mariehamn has 1. Regions with at least 5 indexed towns have their own page with three rankings.
- Mariehamn1 towns
Questions
- Where in Aland Islands is best for the aurora?
- By geomagnetic latitude, Mariehamn at 58.4°. No town sits at 60 degrees or more, so every town needs some activity.
- Which town in Aland Islands has the longest December night?
- Mariehamn, with 16.0 hours of civil night on December 15.
- Which town in Aland Islands has the clearest dark season?
- Mariehamn, with 73% mean cloud amount in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).
- What is the best month for aurora in Aland Islands?
- September for 1 of 1 towns, by civil night times the clear share of the sky. Each town page gives its own month.
Sources and verification
- GeoNames dump (CC BY 4.0)https://download.geonames.org/export/dump/
- IGRF-14, NOAA NCEIhttps://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/IAGA/vmod/coeffs/igrf14coeffs.txt
- NASA POWER climatologyhttps://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/climatology/
- NOAA SWPC, Aurorahttps://www.swpc.noaa.gov/phenomena/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.