Alberta, Canada
Northern lights in Cochrane
Answer
Tonight
Darkness window open
Civil darkness has begun.
Observed 11:55 UTC, forecast 13:26 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in America/Edmonton
Storm level needed
Cochrane sits at 51.18N 114.47W in Alberta, Canada. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Cochrane at 57.6 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 6.4 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Cochrane sits at 57.6 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 Calgary (31 km), Airdrie, Alberta (33 km), Chestermere (48 km). Calgary 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 Cochrane has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 5.7 hours. Every evening of the year at Cochrane clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. Cochrane's longest night of the year, Dec 20, has 14 h 41 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Cochrane, when the sun is lowest, falls at 01:33 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:38 on June 15. That is 1 h 33 min after midnight in December and 1 h 38 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Cochrane the darkest hour sits late in SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14.2 h | 11.5 h | 70% | 4.3 h | |
| Feb | 12.7 h | 10.1 h | 69% | 3.9 h | |
| Mar | 10.9 h | 8.3 h | 72% | 3.1 h | |
| Apr | 8.8 h | 5.7 h | 72% | 2.5 h | |
| May | 6.9 h | 2.0 h | 70% | 2.1 h | |
| Jun | 5.7 h | 0.0 h | 70% | 1.7 h | |
| Jul | 6.3 h | 0.0 h | 56% | 2.8 h | |
| Aug | 8.1 h | 4.6 h | 56% | 3.6 h | |
| Sep | 10.2 h | 7.4 h | 62% | 3.9 h | |
| Oct | 12.1 h | 9.5 h | 68% | 3.9 h | |
| Nov | 13.8 h | 11.2 h | 71% | 4.0 h | |
| Dec | 14.7 h | 11.9 h | 68% | 4.7 hbest |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Cochrane with 14.7 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 5.7. Across the year Cochrane gets 3,777 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Cochrane, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 11.9 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Cochrane at 67% across the year, from 56% in July to 72% in March. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Cochrane averages 67%, against a median of 67% for Glow towns in Canada.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives December the best score, 4.7 hours, ahead of January at 4.3. Cochrane's equinox months score 3.1 in March and 3.9 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 5 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Cochrane, on 10% of days. At Cochrane'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 1, the new moon falls on Oct 10 and the full moon on Oct 25, in America/Edmonton dates. 14 of the 30 nights at Cochrane have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 5 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Cochrane has 11 h 13 min of civil night, 1 h 40 min of it with the moon down.
- 1
65% lit
1.7 h
- 2
54% lit
2.8 h
- 3
42% lit
4.2 h
- 4
31% lit
5.6 h
- 5
21% lit
7.1 h
- 6
13% lit
8.5 h
- 7
7% lit
9.9 h
- 8
2% lit
11.3 h
- 9
0% lit
11.7 h
- 10
1% lit
11.8 h
- 11
3% lit
11.8 h
- 12
7% lit
11.9 h
- 13
13% lit
11.9 h
- 14
20% lit
11.4 h
- 15
28% lit
10.7 h
- 16
37% lit
9.7 h
- 17
46% lit
8.6 h
- 18
56% lit
7.5 h
- 19
65% lit
6.3 h
- 20
74% lit
5.0 h
- 21
82% lit
3.8 h
- 22
90% lit
2.5 h
- 23
95% lit
1.2 h
- 24
99% lit
0.0 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
98% lit
0.0 h
- 27
94% lit
0.0 h
- 28
87% lit
0.5 h
- 29
78% lit
1.6 h
- 30
68% lit
2.9 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.
Within Canada
Among the 17 Glow towns in Alberta, Cochrane ranks 12th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 58.7 degrees; Fort McMurray sits highest at 63.4. Among the 130 Glow towns in Canada, Cochrane ranks 34th by dipole latitude against a national median of 55.3 degrees; Yellowknife sits highest at 68.5. On December 15 Cochrane gets 14.7 hours of civil night, 19th longest of 130 in Canada, where the median is 14.2.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Cochrane?
- Cochrane sits at 57.6 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 Cochrane still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Cochrane?
- Every night at Cochrane has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 13 min, and December 15 has 14.7 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Cochrane?
- December, by civil night at Cochrane times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Cochrane in the dark months?
- About 67% mean cloud amount over Cochrane 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 Cochrane?
- 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.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Cochrane by month
Region and comparisons