Longyearbyen · November 2026
Northern lights in Longyearbyen in November 2026
Answer
November against the rest of the year
November cloud at Longyearbyen averages 76% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, close to its yearly mean of 76%. April is Longyearbyen's clearest month at 67%. By civil night times clear sky, November scores 5.8 hours at Longyearbyen, 3rd of 12. Alta, 945 km away, averages 81%, cloudier by 5 points.
Civil night at Longyearbyen starts November at 17 h 45 min and reaches 24 h by November 30 as the nights lengthen by 6.3 hours. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. True astronomical darkness, the sun 18 degrees down, lasts 11.8 hours on the 15th.
November night by night
November opens toward a new moon on Nov 9, with full moon on Nov 24, in Arctic/Longyearbyen dates. Longyearbyen gets 336 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: Nov 4 (4 h), Nov 5 (4 h), Nov 6 (4 h).
- 1
49% lit
0.0 h
- 2
38% lit
0.0 h
- 3
28% lit
6.4 h
- 4
19% lit
11.2 h
- 5
11% lit
15.2 h
- 6
6% lit
19.3 h
- 7
2% lit
19.7 h
- 8
0% lit
20.1 h
- 9
1% lit
20.4 h
- 10
3% lit
20.9 h
- 11
7% lit
21.4 h
- 12
12% lit
22.1 h
- 13
19% lit
23.5 h
- 14
27% lit
24.0 h
- 15
36% lit
24.0 h
- 16
45% lit
24.0 h
- 17
55% lit
24.0 h
- 18
65% lit
16.4 h
- 19
74% lit
12.0 h
- 20
83% lit
6.8 h
- 21
90% lit
0.0 h
- 22
96% lit
0.0 h
- 23
99% lit
0.0 h
- 24
100% lit
0.0 h
- 25
97% lit
0.0 h
- 26
92% lit
0.0 h
- 27
84% lit
0.0 h
- 28
75% lit
0.0 h
- 29
64% lit
0.0 h
- 30
53% lit
4.6 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 Novembers
Quiet activity already puts the oval edge over Longyearbyen, so storm days matter more: 93 of the 900 November days from 1996 to 2025 (10%) reached Kp 5, 7th of 12 months. Longyearbyen sits at 75.3 degrees geomagnetic, poleward of SWPC's 60 to 75 degree band. The quiet oval can lie south of the town, so aurora often shows low in the southern sky, and storms push the oval farther south.
November across Svalbard and Jan Mayen
Coming from October (13.4 hours at Longyearbyen), November adds darkness, and December holds about the same.
Darkness and moon, every night
| Night | Civil | Astronomical | Moon-free dark | Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM | Moon lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Nov 1 | 17 h 45 min | 9 h 16 min | 0 min | 0 min | 49% |
| Mon Nov 2 | 18 h 2 min | 9 h 28 min | 0 min | 0 min | 38% |
| Tue Nov 3 | 18 h 20 min | 9 h 41 min | 6 h 24 min | 1 h 8 min | 28% |
| Wed Nov 4 | 18 h 39 min | 9 h 53 min | 11 h 10 min | 4 h | 19% |
| Thu Nov 5 | 18 h 58 min | 10 h 5 min | 15 h 14 min | 4 h | 11% |
| Fri Nov 6 | 19 h 19 min | 10 h 16 min | 19 h 19 min | 4 h | 6% |
| Sat Nov 7 | 19 h 40 min | 10 h 28 min | 19 h 40 min | 4 h | 2% |
| Sun Nov 8 | 20 h 3 min | 10 h 39 min | 20 h 3 min | 4 h | 0% |
| Mon Nov 9 | 20 h 27 min | 10 h 50 min | 20 h 27 min | 4 h | 1% |
| Tue Nov 10 | 20 h 54 min | 11 h 1 min | 20 h 54 min | 4 h | 3% |
| Wed Nov 11 | 21 h 25 min | 11 h 11 min | 21 h 25 min | 4 h | 7% |
| Thu Nov 12 | 22 h 4 min | 11 h 22 min | 22 h 4 min | 4 h | 12% |
| Fri Nov 13 | 23 h 32 min | 11 h 32 min | 23 h 32 min | 4 h | 19% |
| Sat Nov 14 | 24 h | 11 h 42 min | 24 h | 4 h | 27% |
| Sun Nov 15 | 24 h | 11 h 51 min | 24 h | 4 h | 36% |
| Mon Nov 16 | 24 h | 12 h 1 min | 24 h | 4 h | 45% |
| Tue Nov 17 | 24 h | 12 h 10 min | 24 h | 4 h | 55% |
| Wed Nov 18 | 24 h | 12 h 19 min | 16 h 22 min | 2 h 56 min | 65% |
| Thu Nov 19 | 24 h | 12 h 28 min | 12 h 1 min | 0 min | 74% |
| Fri Nov 20 | 24 h | 12 h 37 min | 6 h 47 min | 0 min | 83% |
| Sat Nov 21 | 24 h | 12 h 45 min | 0 min | 0 min | 90% |
| Sun Nov 22 | 24 h | 12 h 54 min | 0 min | 0 min | 96% |
| Mon Nov 23 | 24 h | 13 h 2 min | 0 min | 0 min | 99% |
| Tue Nov 24 | 24 h | 13 h 10 min | 0 min | 0 min | 100% |
| Wed Nov 25 | 24 h | 13 h 17 min | 0 min | 0 min | 97% |
| Thu Nov 26 | 24 h | 13 h 25 min | 0 min | 0 min | 92% |
| Fri Nov 27 | 24 h | 13 h 32 min | 0 min | 0 min | 84% |
| Sat Nov 28 | 24 h | 13 h 39 min | 0 min | 0 min | 75% |
| Sun Nov 29 | 24 h | 13 h 46 min | 0 min | 0 min | 64% |
| Mon Nov 30 | 24 h | 13 h 52 min | 4 h 38 min | 0 min | 53% |
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Longyearbyen in November?
- On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 30 of 30 nights at Longyearbyen have civil darkness, and 10% of past November days reached Kp 5.
- How dark is Longyearbyen in November?
- Longyearbyen averages 22.2 hours of civil night a night in November 2026, from 17 h 45 min on the 1st to 24 h on the last night.
- How cloudy is Longyearbyen in November?
- NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Longyearbyen's 1 degree cell 76% mean cloud in November, against 76% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
- What is the best night in November 2026 for aurora in Longyearbyen?
- By darkness and moon alone, Nov 4, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Longyearbyen. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
- Is November or December better in Longyearbyen?
- By civil night times the clear share, November scores 5.8 hours at Longyearbyen and December 6.2. December comes out ahead.
Sources and verification
- SunCalchttps://github.com/mourner/suncalc
- NASA POWER climatologyhttps://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/climatology/
- GFZ Potsdam Kp indexhttps://kp.gfz.de/en/data
- NOAA SWPC, Tips on viewing the aurorahttps://www.spaceweather.gov/content/tips-viewing-aurora
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.