St.-Petersburg, Russia
Northern lights in Lomonosov
Answer
Tonight
Waiting on darkness
It is not civil-dark yet. The next dusk is listed below.
Observed 11:55 UTC, forecast 13:26 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Europe/Moscow
Storm level needed
Lomonosov sits at 59.91N 29.77E in St.-Petersburg, Russia. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Lomonosov at 56.8 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 3.1 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Lomonosov 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.
"aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Petrodvorets (2 km), Peterhof (8 km), Saint Petersburg (30 km). Petrodvorets sits 0.0 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 Lomonosov has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 1.1 hours. Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from July 23 to May 19 across New Year, 301 days in 2026. Lomonosov's longest night of the year, Dec 20, has 16 h 2 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Lomonosov, 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 Lomonosov 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 | 2.5 h | 65% | 2.7 h | |
| May | 4.5 h | 0.0 h | 59% | 1.8 h | |
| Jun | 1.1 h | 0.0 h | 66% | 0.4 h | |
| Jul | 3.1 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 Lomonosov with 16.0 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 1.1. Across the year Lomonosov gets 3,485 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Lomonosov, 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 Lomonosov at 75% across the year, from 59% in May to 91% in December. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Lomonosov 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. Lomonosov'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 Lomonosov, on 10% of days. At Lomonosov'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 Lomonosov have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Lomonosov has 11 h 10 min of civil night, 37 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
12.0 h
- 17
43% lit
10.7 h
- 18
52% lit
9.2 h
- 19
62% lit
7.7 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, Lomonosov ranks 1st by dipole latitude against a regional median of 56.7 degrees, the highest of them. Among the 78 Glow towns in Russia, Lomonosov ranks 46th by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.3 degrees; Nikel sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Lomonosov 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 Lomonosov?
- Lomonosov 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. Clear, dark sky over Lomonosov still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Lomonosov?
- Every night at Lomonosov has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 10 min, and December 15 has 16.0 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Lomonosov?
- March, by civil night at Lomonosov times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Lomonosov in the dark months?
- About 77% mean cloud amount over Lomonosov 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 Lomonosov?
- 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?
- Lomonosov 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
Lomonosov by month
Region and comparisons