St.-Petersburg, Russia
Northern lights in Kronstadt
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/Moscow
Storm level needed
Kronstadt sits at 59.99N 29.78E in St.-Petersburg, Russia. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Kronstadt at 56.9 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 3.1 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Kronstadt sits at 56.9 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 Petrodvorets (11 km), Peterhof (14 km), Sertolovo (29 km). Petrodvorets 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 Kronstadt has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 0.9 hours. Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from July 24 to May 18 across New Year, 299 days in 2026. Kronstadt's longest night of the year, Dec 19, has 16 h 3 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Kronstadt, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:56 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:01 on June 15. That is 56 min after midnight in December and 1 h 1 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Kronstadt the darkest hour sits late in SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15.3 h | 11.9 h | 88% | 1.8 h | |
| Feb | 13.2 h | 9.9 h | 83% | 2.2 h | |
| Mar | 10.7 h | 7.3 h | 72% | 3.0 hbest | |
| Apr | 7.7 h | 2.4 h | 65% | 2.7 h | |
| May | 4.4 h | 0.0 h | 59% | 1.8 h | |
| Jun | 0.9 h | 0.0 h | 66% | 0.3 h | |
| Jul | 3.0 h | 0.0 h | 64% | 1.1 h | |
| Aug | 6.5 h | 0.0 h | 65% | 2.3 h | |
| Sep | 9.6 h | 5.9 h | 72% | 2.7 h | |
| Oct | 12.3 h | 9.1 h | 83% | 2.1 h | |
| Nov | 14.7 h | 11.3 h | 89% | 1.6 h | |
| Dec | 16.0 h | 12.4 h | 91% | 1.4 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Kronstadt with 16.0 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 0.9. Across the year Kronstadt gets 3,477 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Kronstadt, 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 Kronstadt at 75% across the year, from 59% in May to 91% in December. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Kronstadt averages 77%, 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, 3.0 hours, ahead of April at 2.7. Kronstadt's equinox months score 3.0 in March and 2.7 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 Kronstadt, on 10% of days. At Kronstadt'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 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 Kronstadt have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Kronstadt has 11 h 9 min of civil night, 35 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
58% lit
0.6 h
- 3
47% lit
2.1 h
- 4
35% lit
4.0 h
- 5
25% lit
5.8 h
- 6
16% lit
7.5 h
- 7
9% lit
9.2 h
- 8
4% lit
10.8 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.9 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
12.1 h
- 17
43% lit
10.7 h
- 18
52% lit
9.3 h
- 19
62% lit
7.8 h
- 20
71% lit
6.3 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
1.1 h
- 31
61% 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 Russia
Among the 5 Glow towns in St.-Petersburg, Kronstadt ranks 1st by dipole latitude against a regional median of 56.7 degrees, the highest of them. Among the 78 Glow towns in Russia, Kronstadt ranks 46th by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.3 degrees; Nikel sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Kronstadt gets 16.0 hours of civil night, 57th longest of 78 in Russia, where the median is 16.7.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Kronstadt?
- Kronstadt sits at 56.9 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 Kronstadt still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Kronstadt?
- Every night at Kronstadt has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 9 min, and December 15 has 16.0 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Kronstadt?
- March, by civil night at Kronstadt times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Kronstadt in the dark months?
- About 77% mean cloud amount over Kronstadt 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 Kronstadt?
- 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.
- Why does this page point to Petrodvorets?
- Kronstadt sits within 15 km of Petrodvorets with the same rounded dipole latitude, Kp and dark season, so Glow treats Petrodvorets as the main page for both.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Kronstadt by month
Region and comparisons