Munster, Ireland
Northern lights in Cork
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/Dublin
Storm level needed
Cork sits at 51.90N 8.47W in Munster, Ireland. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Cork at 55.0 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 3.1 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Cork sits at 55.0 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 Cluain Meala (73 km), Limerick (86 km), Tralee (94 km). Cluain Meala sits 0.3 degrees higher 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 Cork has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 5.5 hours. Every evening of the year at Cork clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. Cork's longest night of the year, Dec 18, has 14 h 46 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Cork, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:29 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:34 on June 15. That is 29 min after midnight in December and 1 h 34 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Cork 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 | 14.3 h | 11.5 h | 73% | 3.9 h | |
| Feb | 12.7 h | 10.1 h | 75% | 3.2 h | |
| Mar | 10.9 h | 8.2 h | 70% | 3.3 h | |
| Apr | 8.8 h | 5.5 h | 66% | 3.0 h | |
| May | 6.8 h | 1.4 h | 69% | 2.1 h | |
| Jun | 5.5 h | 0.0 h | 69% | 1.7 h | |
| Jul | 6.1 h | 0.0 h | 72% | 1.7 h | |
| Aug | 8.0 h | 4.3 h | 70% | 2.4 h | |
| Sep | 10.1 h | 7.3 h | 68% | 3.2 h | |
| Oct | 12.1 h | 9.5 h | 69% | 3.8 h | |
| Nov | 13.8 h | 11.2 h | 69% | 4.3 hbest | |
| Dec | 14.7 h | 11.9 h | 72% | 4.1 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Cork with 14.7 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 5.5. Across the year Cork gets 3,764 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Cork, 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 Cork at 70% across the year, from 66% in April to 75% in February. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Cork averages 70%, against a median of 75% for Glow towns in Ireland.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives November the best score, 4.3 hours, ahead of December at 4.1. Cork's equinox months score 3.3 in March and 3.2 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 Cork, on 3% of days. At Cork'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/Dublin dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Cork have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 5 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Cork has 11 h 15 min of civil night, 2 h 21 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
57% lit
2.4 h
- 3
46% lit
3.7 h
- 4
34% lit
5.1 h
- 5
24% lit
6.6 h
- 6
15% lit
8.1 h
- 7
8% lit
9.5 h
- 8
3% lit
10.9 h
- 9
1% lit
11.7 h
- 10
0% lit
11.8 h
- 11
2% lit
11.8 h
- 12
6% lit
11.9 h
- 13
11% lit
12.0 h
- 14
18% lit
11.7 h
- 15
26% lit
11.0 h
- 16
34% lit
10.1 h
- 17
43% lit
9.1 h
- 18
53% lit
7.9 h
- 19
62% lit
6.7 h
- 20
72% lit
5.4 h
- 21
80% lit
4.2 h
- 22
88% lit
2.9 h
- 23
94% lit
1.6 h
- 24
98% lit
0.3 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
99% lit
0.0 h
- 27
95% lit
0.0 h
- 28
89% lit
0.2 h
- 29
81% lit
1.1 h
- 30
71% lit
2.4 h
- 31
60% lit
3.9 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 Ireland
Among the 6 Glow towns in Munster, Cork ranks 6th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 55.5 degrees; Ennis sits highest at 56.0. Among the 24 Glow towns in Ireland, Cork ranks 24th by dipole latitude against a national median of 56.1 degrees; Letterkenny sits highest at 57.9. On December 15 Cork gets 14.7 hours of civil night, 24th longest of 24 in Ireland, where the median is 14.9.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Cork?
- Cork sits at 55.0 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 Cork still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Cork?
- Every night at Cork has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 15 min, and December 15 has 14.7 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Cork?
- November, by civil night at Cork times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Cork in the dark months?
- About 70% mean cloud amount over Cork 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 Cork?
- 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
Cork by month
Region and comparisons