Novgorod Oblast, Russia
Northern lights in Chudovo
Answer
Tonight
Waiting on darkness
It is not civil-dark yet. The next dusk is listed below.
Observed 11:55 UTC, forecast 13:26 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Europe/Moscow
Storm level needed
Chudovo sits at 59.12N 31.68E in Novgorod Oblast, Russia. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Chudovo at 55.8 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 3.4 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Chudovo sits at 55.8 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.
"aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Kirishi (44 km), Tosno (65 km), Velikiy Novgorod (71 km). Kirishi sits 0.3 degrees higher on the dipole, Kp 5 against 6 here.
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 Chudovo has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 2.1 hours. Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from July 20 to May 22 across New Year, 307 days in 2026. Chudovo's longest night of the year, Dec 20, has 15 h 53 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Chudovo, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:48 on local clocks on December 15 and 00:54 on June 15. That is 48 min after midnight in December and 54 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Chudovo the darkest hour sits late in SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15.2 h | 11.8 h | 84% | 2.4 h | |
| Feb | 13.1 h | 10.0 h | 81% | 2.5 h | |
| Mar | 10.7 h | 7.4 h | 71% | 3.1 hbest | |
| Apr | 7.8 h | 3.0 h | 66% | 2.7 h | |
| May | 4.8 h | 0.0 h | 63% | 1.8 h | |
| Jun | 2.1 h | 0.0 h | 67% | 0.7 h | |
| Jul | 3.6 h | 0.0 h | 65% | 1.3 h | |
| Aug | 6.7 h | 0.0 h | 64% | 2.4 h | |
| Sep | 9.7 h | 6.1 h | 70% | 2.9 h | |
| Oct | 12.3 h | 9.1 h | 80% | 2.5 h | |
| Nov | 14.6 h | 11.3 h | 87% | 1.9 h | |
| Dec | 15.8 h | 12.4 h | 88% | 1.9 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Chudovo with 15.8 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 2.1. Across the year Chudovo gets 3,539 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Chudovo, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.4 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Chudovo at 74% across the year, from 63% in May to 88% in December. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Chudovo averages 75%, against a median of 77% for Glow towns in Russia.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives March the best score, 3.1 hours, ahead of September at 2.9. Chudovo's equinox months score 3.1 in March and 2.9 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 6 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Chudovo, on 3% of days. At Chudovo's level the share runs from 1% in December to 5% in October, 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 6. 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/Moscow dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Chudovo have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Chudovo has 11 h 10 min of civil night, 51 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
58% lit
0.8 h
- 3
47% lit
2.3 h
- 4
35% lit
4.1 h
- 5
25% lit
5.9 h
- 6
16% lit
7.6 h
- 7
9% lit
9.2 h
- 8
4% 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
10% lit
12.1 h
- 14
17% lit
12.2 h
- 15
25% lit
12.3 h
- 16
33% lit
11.7 h
- 17
43% lit
10.5 h
- 18
52% lit
9.1 h
- 19
62% lit
7.6 h
- 20
71% lit
6.2 h
- 21
79% lit
4.8 h
- 22
87% lit
3.3 h
- 23
93% lit
1.8 h
- 24
98% lit
0.3 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
99% lit
0.0 h
- 27
96% lit
0.0 h
- 28
90% lit
0.0 h
- 29
82% lit
0.0 h
- 30
72% lit
1.3 h
- 31
61% lit
3.0 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 Russia
Among the 2 Glow towns in Novgorod Oblast, Chudovo ranks 1st by dipole latitude against a regional median of 55.5 degrees, the highest of them. Among the 77 Glow towns in Russia, Chudovo ranks 72nd by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.3 degrees; Nikel sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Chudovo gets 15.8 hours of civil night, 74th longest of 77 in Russia, where the median is 16.7.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Chudovo?
- Chudovo sits at 55.8 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. Clear, dark sky over Chudovo still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Chudovo?
- Every night at Chudovo has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 10 min, and December 15 has 15.8 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Chudovo?
- March, by civil night at Chudovo times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Chudovo in the dark months?
- About 75% mean cloud amount over Chudovo 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 Chudovo?
- A 3-hour Kp of 6 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 3% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Chudovo by month
Region and comparisons