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Houghton-Le-Spring · January 2027

Northern lights in Houghton-Le-Spring in January 2027

Answer

January gives Houghton-Le-Spring 14.6 hours of civil night on the 15th, the 2nd darkest of its 12 months, under 79% mean cloud. 6% of January days since 1996 reached Kp 5, enough for the oval edge to reach Houghton-Le-Spring.
14.5 h
civil night, average night
SunCalc for 54.84, -1.46; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

January against the rest of the year

January cloud at Houghton-Le-Spring averages 79% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 2 points cloudier than its yearly mean. May is Houghton-Le-Spring's clearest month at 74%. By civil night times clear sky, January scores 3.1 hours at Houghton-Le-Spring, 3rd of 12. Sunderland, 9 km away, averages the same 79%.

Civil night at Houghton-Le-Spring starts January at 15 h 3 min and reaches 13 h 49 min by January 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 11.7 hours on the 15th.

January night by night

January opens toward a new moon on Jan 7, with full moon on Jan 22, in Europe/London dates. Houghton-Le-Spring gets 251 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: Jan 1 (4 h), Jan 2 (4 h), Jan 3 (4 h).

  1. 1

    28% lit

    11.1 h

  2. 2

    20% lit

    12.4 h

  3. 3

    13% lit

    13.6 h

  4. 4

    7% lit

    14.7 h

  5. 5

    3% lit

    14.9 h

  6. 6

    1% lit

    14.9 h

  7. 7

    0% lit

    14.9 h

  8. 8

    1% lit

    14.9 h

  9. 9

    4% lit

    14.0 h

  10. 10

    9% lit

    12.7 h

  11. 11

    15% lit

    11.4 h

  12. 12

    22% lit

    10.1 h

  13. 13

    31% lit

    8.8 h

  14. 14

    41% lit

    7.5 h

  15. 15

    52% lit

    6.0 h

  16. 16

    62% lit

    4.5 h

  17. 17

    73% lit

    3.0 h

  18. 18

    83% lit

    1.6 h

  19. 19

    91% lit

    0.4 h

  20. 20

    96% lit

    0.0 h

  21. 21

    100% lit

    0.0 h

  22. 22

    100% lit

    0.0 h

  23. 23

    97% lit

    0.9 h

  24. 24

    91% lit

    2.5 h

  25. 25

    84% lit

    4.0 h

  26. 26

    75% lit

    5.4 h

  27. 27

    65% lit

    6.8 h

  28. 28

    55% lit

    8.1 h

  29. 29

    45% lit

    9.5 h

  30. 30

    35% lit

    10.7 h

  31. 31

    26% 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 Januarys

Houghton-Le-Spring needs Kp 5 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 58 of the 930 January days from 1996 to 2025 (6%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, one of the three quietest months for that level; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 6%. Houghton-Le-Spring sits at 56.8 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.

January across United Kingdom

Houghton-Le-Spring ranks 6th in United Kingdom for civil night on January 15, behind Isle of Lewis at 15.1 hours. Coming from December (15.1 hours at Houghton-Le-Spring), January loses darkness, and February brings shorter nights (12.9 hours on the 15th).

Civil night on January 15 and January cloud, month-page towns in United Kingdom
TownCivil nightCloud
Isle of Lewis15.1 h89%
Aberdeen14.9 h79%
Edinburgh14.8 h79%
Dundee14.8 h82%
Glasgow14.7 h80%
Houghton-Le-Spring14.6 h79%
Belfast14.6 h81%
Newcastle upon Tyne14.6 h79%
Sunderland14.6 h79%
Middlesbrough14.6 h79%
Manchester, England14.5 h82%
Leeds14.5 h76%

Darkness and moon, every night

Houghton-Le-Spring, January 2027: each night from local noon to the next noon
NightCivilAstronomicalMoon-free darkMoon-free, 10 PM to 2 AMMoon lit
Fri Jan 115 h 3 min12 h 2 min11 h 4 min4 h28%
Sat Jan 215 h 2 min12 h 1 min12 h 23 min4 h20%
Sun Jan 315 h12 h13 h 38 min4 h13%
Mon Jan 414 h 59 min11 h 58 min14 h 43 min4 h7%
Tue Jan 514 h 57 min11 h 57 min14 h 57 min4 h3%
Wed Jan 614 h 56 min11 h 56 min14 h 56 min4 h1%
Thu Jan 714 h 54 min11 h 54 min14 h 54 min4 h0%
Fri Jan 814 h 52 min11 h 53 min14 h 52 min4 h1%
Sat Jan 914 h 50 min11 h 51 min13 h 58 min4 h4%
Sun Jan 1014 h 48 min11 h 49 min12 h 40 min4 h9%
Mon Jan 1114 h 46 min11 h 48 min11 h 23 min4 h15%
Tue Jan 1214 h 44 min11 h 46 min10 h 6 min4 h22%
Wed Jan 1314 h 42 min11 h 44 min8 h 48 min3 h 13 min31%
Thu Jan 1414 h 39 min11 h 42 min7 h 28 min1 h 53 min41%
Fri Jan 1514 h 37 min11 h 40 min6 h 3 min29 min52%
Sat Jan 1614 h 34 min11 h 38 min4 h 33 min0 min62%
Sun Jan 1714 h 32 min11 h 35 min3 h 1 min0 min73%
Mon Jan 1814 h 29 min11 h 33 min1 h 34 min0 min83%
Tue Jan 1914 h 26 min11 h 31 min22 min0 min91%
Wed Jan 2014 h 24 min11 h 28 min0 min0 min96%
Thu Jan 2114 h 21 min11 h 26 min0 min0 min100%
Fri Jan 2214 h 18 min11 h 23 min0 min0 min100%
Sat Jan 2314 h 15 min11 h 21 min56 min0 min97%
Sun Jan 2414 h 12 min11 h 18 min2 h 29 min0 min91%
Mon Jan 2514 h 9 min11 h 15 min3 h 58 min0 min84%
Tue Jan 2614 h 5 min11 h 12 min5 h 23 min38 min75%
Wed Jan 2714 h 2 min11 h 10 min6 h 46 min2 h 3 min65%
Thu Jan 2813 h 59 min11 h 7 min8 h 7 min3 h 26 min55%
Fri Jan 2913 h 56 min11 h 4 min9 h 28 min4 h45%
Sat Jan 3013 h 52 min11 h10 h 44 min4 h35%
Sun Jan 3113 h 49 min10 h 57 min11 h 53 min4 h26%
Moon lit: SunCalc illuminated fraction at the middle of the 10 PM to 2 AM window.

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Houghton-Le-Spring in January?
On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 31 of 31 nights at Houghton-Le-Spring have civil darkness, and 6% of past January days reached Kp 5.
How dark is Houghton-Le-Spring in January?
Houghton-Le-Spring averages 14.5 hours of civil night a night in January 2027, from 15 h 3 min on the 1st to 13 h 49 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Houghton-Le-Spring in January?
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Houghton-Le-Spring's 1 degree cell 79% mean cloud in January, against 77% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in January 2027 for aurora in Houghton-Le-Spring?
By darkness and moon alone, Jan 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Houghton-Le-Spring. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is January or February better in Houghton-Le-Spring?
By civil night times the clear share, January scores 3.1 hours at Houghton-Le-Spring and February 2.7. January comes out ahead.

Sources and verification

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.