Christchurch · August 2027
Southern lights in Christchurch in August 2027
Answer
August against the rest of the year
August cloud at Christchurch averages 66% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, close to its yearly mean of 66%. July is Christchurch's clearest month at 63%. By civil night times clear sky, August scores 4.3 hours at Christchurch, 4th of 12. Seattle, 11,965 km away, averages 48%, clearer by 18 points.
Civil night at Christchurch starts August at 13 h 7 min and reaches 11 h 54 min by August 31, 1.2 hours shorter. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. True astronomical darkness, the sun 18 degrees down, lasts 10.3 hours on the 15th.
August night by night
August opens toward a new moon on Aug 2, with full moon on Aug 17, in Pacific/Auckland dates. Christchurch gets 197 hours of civil night with the moon below the horizon across the month. The best of them for moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM: Aug 1 (4 h), Aug 2 (4 h), Aug 3 (4 h).
- 1
1% lit
13.1 h
- 2
0% lit
13.1 h
- 3
2% lit
12.6 h
- 4
6% lit
11.3 h
- 5
14% lit
9.9 h
- 6
22% lit
8.7 h
- 7
32% lit
7.4 h
- 8
43% lit
6.2 h
- 9
53% lit
5.0 h
- 10
63% lit
3.9 h
- 11
72% lit
2.9 h
- 12
81% lit
2.0 h
- 13
88% lit
1.2 h
- 14
93% lit
0.6 h
- 15
97% lit
0.1 h
- 16
99% lit
0.0 h
- 17
100% lit
0.0 h
- 18
99% lit
0.4 h
- 19
96% lit
1.4 h
- 20
91% lit
2.5 h
- 21
84% lit
3.5 h
- 22
76% lit
4.7 h
- 23
67% lit
5.8 h
- 24
57% lit
7.0 h
- 25
46% lit
8.1 h
- 26
35% lit
9.2 h
- 27
24% lit
10.1 h
- 28
15% lit
10.9 h
- 29
7% lit
11.5 h
- 30
2% lit
11.9 h
- 31
0% lit
11.9 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.
Activity in past Augusts
No whole Kp puts the average oval edge over Christchurch by SWPC's rule, so the GFZ record has no threshold to count for August. Christchurch sits at 46.7 degrees geomagnetic. The lowest NOAA storm level whose typical viewing latitude reaches it is G4 (Kp = 8, including a 9-). Even Kp 9 does not put the average oval edge overhead by SWPC's rule.
August across New Zealand
Coming from July (13.6 hours at Christchurch), August loses darkness, and September brings shorter nights (11.2 hours on the 15th).
Darkness and moon, every night
| Night | Civil | Astronomical | Moon-free dark | Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM | Moon lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Aug 1 | 13 h 7 min | 10 h 50 min | 13 h 7 min | 4 h | 1% |
| Mon Aug 2 | 13 h 4 min | 10 h 48 min | 13 h 4 min | 4 h | 0% |
| Tue Aug 3 | 13 h 2 min | 10 h 47 min | 12 h 38 min | 4 h | 2% |
| Wed Aug 4 | 13 h | 10 h 45 min | 11 h 15 min | 4 h | 6% |
| Thu Aug 5 | 12 h 58 min | 10 h 43 min | 9 h 56 min | 4 h | 14% |
| Fri Aug 6 | 12 h 56 min | 10 h 41 min | 8 h 39 min | 3 h 36 min | 22% |
| Sat Aug 7 | 12 h 54 min | 10 h 39 min | 7 h 24 min | 2 h 22 min | 32% |
| Sun Aug 8 | 12 h 51 min | 10 h 37 min | 6 h 10 min | 1 h 10 min | 43% |
| Mon Aug 9 | 12 h 49 min | 10 h 35 min | 4 h 59 min | 0 min | 53% |
| Tue Aug 10 | 12 h 47 min | 10 h 32 min | 3 h 52 min | 0 min | 63% |
| Wed Aug 11 | 12 h 45 min | 10 h 30 min | 2 h 51 min | 0 min | 72% |
| Thu Aug 12 | 12 h 42 min | 10 h 28 min | 1 h 58 min | 0 min | 81% |
| Fri Aug 13 | 12 h 40 min | 10 h 26 min | 1 h 14 min | 0 min | 88% |
| Sat Aug 14 | 12 h 37 min | 10 h 24 min | 38 min | 0 min | 93% |
| Sun Aug 15 | 12 h 35 min | 10 h 21 min | 8 min | 0 min | 97% |
| Mon Aug 16 | 12 h 33 min | 10 h 19 min | 0 min | 0 min | 99% |
| Tue Aug 17 | 12 h 30 min | 10 h 17 min | 0 min | 0 min | 100% |
| Wed Aug 18 | 12 h 28 min | 10 h 14 min | 26 min | 0 min | 99% |
| Thu Aug 19 | 12 h 25 min | 10 h 12 min | 1 h 27 min | 0 min | 96% |
| Fri Aug 20 | 12 h 23 min | 10 h 9 min | 2 h 29 min | 0 min | 91% |
| Sat Aug 21 | 12 h 20 min | 10 h 7 min | 3 h 33 min | 0 min | 84% |
| Sun Aug 22 | 12 h 18 min | 10 h 4 min | 4 h 39 min | 1 h 3 min | 76% |
| Mon Aug 23 | 12 h 15 min | 10 h 2 min | 5 h 48 min | 2 h 13 min | 67% |
| Tue Aug 24 | 12 h 12 min | 9 h 59 min | 6 h 59 min | 3 h 24 min | 57% |
| Wed Aug 25 | 12 h 10 min | 9 h 57 min | 8 h 8 min | 4 h | 46% |
| Thu Aug 26 | 12 h 7 min | 9 h 54 min | 9 h 13 min | 4 h | 35% |
| Fri Aug 27 | 12 h 4 min | 9 h 52 min | 10 h 8 min | 4 h | 24% |
| Sat Aug 28 | 12 h 2 min | 9 h 49 min | 10 h 53 min | 4 h | 15% |
| Sun Aug 29 | 11 h 59 min | 9 h 46 min | 11 h 28 min | 4 h | 7% |
| Mon Aug 30 | 11 h 56 min | 9 h 44 min | 11 h 56 min | 4 h | 2% |
| Tue Aug 31 | 11 h 54 min | 9 h 41 min | 11 h 54 min | 4 h | 0% |
Questions
- Can you see the southern lights in Christchurch in August?
- On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 31 of 31 nights at Christchurch have civil darkness.
- How dark is Christchurch in August?
- Christchurch averages 12.5 hours of civil night a night in August 2027, from 13 h 7 min on the 1st to 11 h 54 min on the last night.
- How cloudy is Christchurch in August?
- NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Christchurch's 1 degree cell 66% mean cloud in August, against 66% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
- What is the best night in August 2027 for aurora in Christchurch?
- By darkness and moon alone, Aug 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Christchurch. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
- Is August or September better in Christchurch?
- By civil night times the clear share, August scores 4.3 hours at Christchurch and September 3.8. August comes out ahead.
Sources and verification
- SunCalchttps://github.com/mourner/suncalc
- NASA POWER climatologyhttps://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/climatology/
- GFZ Potsdam Kp indexhttps://kp.gfz.de/en/data
- 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.