Mariehamn, Aland Islands
Northern lights in Mariehamn
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/Mariehamn
Storm level needed
Mariehamn sits at 60.10N 19.93E in Mariehamn, Aland Islands. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Mariehamn at 58.4 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 1.7 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Mariehamn sits at 58.4 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, 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 Norrtälje (78 km), Åkersberga (114 km), Gustavsberg (122 km). Norrtälje 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
From June 18 to June 22 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 5 nights in 2026 have no civil darkness at all. SWPC puts it plainly: "It must also be dark so during the summer months at auroral latitudes, the midnight sun prevents auroral observations." 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. Mariehamn's longest night of the year, Dec 18, has 16 h 4 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Mariehamn, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:35 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:41 on June 15. That is 35 min after midnight in December and 1 h 41 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Mariehamn 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 | 15.3 h | 11.9 h | 85% | 2.3 h | |
| Feb | 13.2 h | 9.9 h | 82% | 2.4 h | |
| Mar | 10.7 h | 7.3 h | 71% | 3.1 h | |
| Apr | 7.7 h | 2.3 h | 61% | 3.0 h | |
| May | 4.4 h | 0.0 h | 59% | 1.8 h | |
| Jun | 0.6 h | 0.0 h | 58% | 0.3 h | |
| Jul | 3.0 h | 0.0 h | 61% | 1.2 h | |
| Aug | 6.5 h | 0.0 h | 63% | 2.4 h | |
| Sep | 9.6 h | 5.9 h | 66% | 3.3 hbest | |
| Oct | 12.3 h | 9.1 h | 77% | 2.8 h | |
| Nov | 14.7 h | 11.4 h | 84% | 2.4 h | |
| Dec | 16.0 h | 12.4 h | 83% | 2.7 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Mariehamn with 16.0 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 0.6. Across the year Mariehamn gets 3,464 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Mariehamn, 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 Mariehamn at 71% across the year, from 58% in June to 85% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Mariehamn averages 73%.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives September the best score, 3.3 hours, ahead of March at 3.1. Mariehamn's equinox months score 3.1 in March and 3.3 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 4 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Mariehamn, on 24% of days. At Mariehamn's level the share runs from 19% in December to 31% 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 4. 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/Mariehamn dates. 14 of the 30 nights at Mariehamn have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Mariehamn 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
7.6 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
9.2 h
- 19
62% lit
7.7 h
- 20
71% lit
6.2 h
- 21
79% lit
4.8 h
- 22
87% lit
3.3 h
- 23
93% lit
1.8 h
- 24
98% lit
0.2 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
81% 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 Aland Islands
On December 15 Mariehamn gets 16.0 hours of civil night, 1st longest of 1 in Aland Islands, where the median is 16.0.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Mariehamn?
- Mariehamn sits at 58.4 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Clear, dark sky over Mariehamn still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Mariehamn?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from Jun 18 to Jun 22. Tonight has 11 h 9 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Mariehamn?
- September, by civil night at Mariehamn times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Mariehamn in the dark months?
- About 73% mean cloud amount over Mariehamn 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 Mariehamn?
- A 3-hour Kp of 4 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 24% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Mariehamn by month
Region and comparisons