Västra Götaland, Sweden
Northern lights in Björlanda
Answer
Tonight
Waiting on darkness
It is not civil-dark yet. The next dusk is listed below.
Observed 11:49 UTC, forecast 13:20 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Europe/Stockholm
Storm level needed
Björlanda sits at 57.77N 11.83E in Västra Götaland, Sweden. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Björlanda at 57.5 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 0.3 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Björlanda sits at 57.5 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 5, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.
"aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Gothenburg (10 km), Kungälv (15 km), Lerum (26 km). Gothenburg sits 0.1 degrees lower on the dipole and needs the same Kp.
Approximate: SWPC calls its Kp to latitude rule an average, and a centered dipole can differ by a degree from fuller field models. How the storm level is matched
The year in darkness
Every night of 2026 at Björlanda has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 3.2 hours. Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from July 12 to May 30 across New Year, 323 days in 2026. Björlanda's longest night of the year, Dec 19, has 15 h 38 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Björlanda, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:08 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:13 on June 15. That is 8 min after midnight in December and 1 h 13 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Björlanda the darkest hour sits near the middle of SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window in winter.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15.0 h | 11.8 h | 86% | 2.1 h | |
| Feb | 13.0 h | 10.0 h | 83% | 2.2 h | |
| Mar | 10.8 h | 7.6 h | 74% | 2.8 h | |
| Apr | 8.0 h | 3.7 h | 65% | 2.8 h | |
| May | 5.3 h | 0.0 h | 64% | 1.9 h | |
| Jun | 3.2 h | 0.0 h | 63% | 1.2 h | |
| Jul | 4.3 h | 0.0 h | 65% | 1.5 h | |
| Aug | 7.0 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 2.2 h | |
| Sep | 9.8 h | 6.4 h | 69% | 3.0 h | |
| Oct | 12.2 h | 9.2 h | 74% | 3.2 hbest | |
| Nov | 14.4 h | 11.3 h | 83% | 2.4 h | |
| Dec | 15.6 h | 12.3 h | 85% | 2.3 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Björlanda with 15.6 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 3.2. Across the year Björlanda gets 3,603 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Björlanda, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.3 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Björlanda at 73% across the year, from 63% in June to 86% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Björlanda averages 74%, against a median of 75% for Glow towns in Sweden.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives October the best score, 3.2 hours, ahead of September at 3.0. Björlanda's equinox months score 2.8 in March and 3.0 in September, the weeks SWPC links with larger storms.
Kp history
From 1996 to 2025, the GFZ Potsdam record shows a 3-hour Kp of 5 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Björlanda, on 10% of days. At Björlanda's level the share runs from 5% in December to 14% in September, while storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%.
Share of UTC days in each calendar month whose highest 3-hour Kp reached Kp 5. Kp history by year
Moon, next 30 nights
Over the 30 nights from Oct 2, the new moon falls on Oct 10 and the full moon on Oct 26, in Europe/Stockholm dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Björlanda have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Björlanda has 11 h 12 min of civil night, 1 h 16 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
57% lit
1.3 h
- 3
46% lit
2.7 h
- 4
35% lit
4.4 h
- 5
25% lit
6.1 h
- 6
16% lit
7.8 h
- 7
8% lit
9.3 h
- 8
3% lit
10.8 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.8 h
- 11
2% lit
11.9 h
- 12
5% lit
12.0 h
- 13
11% lit
12.1 h
- 14
17% lit
12.2 h
- 15
25% lit
12.1 h
- 16
34% lit
11.3 h
- 17
43% lit
10.1 h
- 18
52% lit
8.8 h
- 19
62% lit
7.4 h
- 20
71% lit
6.0 h
- 21
80% lit
4.6 h
- 22
87% lit
3.2 h
- 23
94% lit
1.7 h
- 24
98% lit
0.2 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
99% lit
0.0 h
- 27
95% lit
0.0 h
- 28
89% lit
0.0 h
- 29
81% lit
0.3 h
- 30
71% lit
1.6 h
- 31
60% lit
3.3 h
Each cell is the night that starts on that date. Hours are civil-dark time with the moon below the horizon; the green rule scales with them. Green outline: new moon. Bone outline: full moon.
Within Sweden
Among the 13 Glow towns in Västra Götaland, Björlanda ranks 9th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 57.5 degrees; Mariestad sits highest at 58.0. Among the 75 Glow towns in Sweden, Björlanda ranks 48th by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.9 degrees; Kiruna sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Björlanda gets 15.6 hours of civil night, 46th longest of 75 in Sweden, where the median is 15.7.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Björlanda?
- Björlanda sits at 57.5 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 5, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Clear, dark sky over Björlanda still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Björlanda?
- Every night at Björlanda has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 12 min, and December 15 has 15.6 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Björlanda?
- October, by civil night at Björlanda times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Björlanda in the dark months?
- About 74% mean cloud amount over Björlanda in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology.
- How often is activity high enough for Björlanda?
- A 3-hour Kp of 5 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 10% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
- Why does this page point to Gothenburg?
- Björlanda sits within 15 km of Gothenburg with the same rounded dipole latitude, Kp and dark season, so Glow treats Gothenburg as the main page for both.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Björlanda by month
Region and comparisons