Östergötland, Sweden
Northern lights in Linköping
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/Stockholm
Storm level needed
Linköping sits at 58.41N 15.62E in Östergötland, Sweden. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Linköping at 57.5 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 0.9 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Linköping sits at 57.5 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 Motala (37 km), Norrköping (38 km), Katrineholm (73 km). Motala sits 0.2 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 Linköping has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 2.7 hours. Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from July 16 to May 26 across New Year, 315 days in 2026. Linköping's longest night of the year, Dec 20, has 15 h 45 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Linköping, when the sun is lowest, falls at 23:53 on local clocks on December 15 and 00:58 on June 15. That is 7 min before midnight in December and 58 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Linköping 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 | 15.1 h | 11.8 h | 83% | 2.6 h | |
| Feb | 13.1 h | 10.0 h | 83% | 2.2 h | |
| Mar | 10.8 h | 7.5 h | 72% | 3.0 h | |
| Apr | 7.9 h | 3.4 h | 65% | 2.8 h | |
| May | 5.0 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 1.6 h | |
| Jun | 2.7 h | 0.0 h | 67% | 0.9 h | |
| Jul | 4.0 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 1.3 h | |
| Aug | 6.9 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 2.2 h | |
| Sep | 9.7 h | 6.3 h | 69% | 3.0 h | |
| Oct | 12.3 h | 9.2 h | 72% | 3.4 hbest | |
| Nov | 14.5 h | 11.3 h | 78% | 3.2 h | |
| Dec | 15.7 h | 12.3 h | 81% | 3.0 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Linköping with 15.7 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 2.7. Across the year Linköping gets 3,575 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Linköping, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.3 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Linköping at 73% across the year, from 65% in April to 83% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Linköping averages 73%, against a median of 75% for Glow towns in Sweden.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives October the best score, 3.4 hours, ahead of November at 3.2. Linköping's equinox months score 3.0 in March and 3.0 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 Linköping, on 10% of days. At Linköping'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/Stockholm dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Linköping have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Linköping has 11 h 11 min of civil night, 1 h 6 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
57% lit
1.1 h
- 3
46% lit
2.6 h
- 4
35% lit
4.3 h
- 5
25% lit
6.0 h
- 6
16% lit
7.7 h
- 7
8% lit
9.3 h
- 8
3% 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
11% lit
12.1 h
- 14
17% lit
12.2 h
- 15
25% lit
12.3 h
- 16
34% lit
11.5 h
- 17
43% lit
10.3 h
- 18
52% lit
8.9 h
- 19
62% lit
7.5 h
- 20
71% lit
6.0 h
- 21
80% lit
4.6 h
- 22
87% lit
3.2 h
- 23
94% lit
1.8 h
- 24
98% lit
0.2 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
99% lit
0.0 h
- 27
95% lit
0.0 h
- 28
89% lit
0.0 h
- 29
81% lit
0.1 h
- 30
71% lit
1.5 h
- 31
60% lit
3.2 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 Sweden
Among the 3 Glow towns in Östergötland, Linköping ranks 3rd by dipole latitude against a regional median of 57.6 degrees; Motala sits highest at 57.7. Among the 74 Glow towns in Sweden, Linköping ranks 47th by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.9 degrees; Kiruna sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Linköping gets 15.7 hours of civil night, 38th longest of 74 in Sweden, where the median is 15.8.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Linköping?
- Linköping sits at 57.5 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 Linköping still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Linköping?
- Every night at Linköping has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 11 min, and December 15 has 15.7 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Linköping?
- October, by civil night at Linköping times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Linköping in the dark months?
- About 73% mean cloud amount over Linköping 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 Linköping?
- 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
Linköping by month
Region and comparisons