Mosgiel · May 2027
Southern lights in Mosgiel in May 2027
Answer
May against the rest of the year
May cloud at Mosgiel averages 70% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, close to its yearly mean of 71%. July is Mosgiel's clearest month at 67%. By civil night times clear sky, May scores 4.0 hours at Mosgiel, 3rd of 12. Seattle, 12,280 km away, averages the same 70%.
Civil night at Mosgiel starts May at 12 h 51 min and reaches 13 h 51 min by May 31 as the nights lengthen by 1.0 hours. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. True astronomical darkness, the sun 18 degrees down, lasts 11.0 hours on the 15th.
May night by night
May opens toward a new moon on May 6, with full moon on May 20, in Pacific/Auckland dates. Mosgiel gets 207 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: May 1 (4 h), May 2 (4 h), May 3 (4 h).
- 1
26% lit
8.3 h
- 2
17% lit
9.5 h
- 3
10% lit
10.7 h
- 4
5% lit
11.9 h
- 5
1% lit
13.0 h
- 6
0% lit
13.1 h
- 7
2% lit
13.1 h
- 8
6% lit
13.1 h
- 9
12% lit
12.1 h
- 10
21% lit
10.9 h
- 11
31% lit
9.6 h
- 12
42% lit
8.3 h
- 13
54% lit
7.0 h
- 14
65% lit
5.7 h
- 15
75% lit
4.5 h
- 16
84% lit
3.3 h
- 17
91% lit
2.1 h
- 18
96% lit
0.9 h
- 19
99% lit
0.0 h
- 20
100% lit
0.0 h
- 21
99% lit
0.0 h
- 22
96% lit
0.2 h
- 23
91% lit
1.1 h
- 24
85% lit
2.1 h
- 25
78% lit
3.3 h
- 26
69% lit
4.3 h
- 27
60% lit
5.5 h
- 28
51% lit
6.5 h
- 29
41% lit
7.7 h
- 30
32% lit
8.8 h
- 31
22% lit
10.0 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 Mays
Mosgiel needs Kp 9 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 1 of the 930 May days from 1996 to 2025 (0%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, one of the three most active months for that level; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%. Mosgiel sits at 49.4 degrees geomagnetic. The lowest NOAA storm level whose typical viewing latitude reaches it is G4 (Kp = 8, including a 9-). By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead only at Kp 9.
May across New Zealand
Coming from April (12.1 hours at Mosgiel), May adds darkness, and the nights keep growing into June (14.1 hours on the 15th).
Darkness and moon, every night
| Night | Civil | Astronomical | Moon-free dark | Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM | Moon lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat May 1 | 12 h 51 min | 10 h 31 min | 8 h 20 min | 4 h | 26% |
| Sun May 2 | 12 h 53 min | 10 h 33 min | 9 h 29 min | 4 h | 17% |
| Mon May 3 | 12 h 56 min | 10 h 36 min | 10 h 40 min | 4 h | 10% |
| Tue May 4 | 12 h 58 min | 10 h 38 min | 11 h 55 min | 4 h | 5% |
| Wed May 5 | 13 h 1 min | 10 h 40 min | 13 h 1 min | 4 h | 1% |
| Thu May 6 | 13 h 3 min | 10 h 42 min | 13 h 3 min | 4 h | 0% |
| Fri May 7 | 13 h 6 min | 10 h 45 min | 13 h 6 min | 4 h | 2% |
| Sat May 8 | 13 h 8 min | 10 h 47 min | 13 h 6 min | 4 h | 6% |
| Sun May 9 | 13 h 10 min | 10 h 49 min | 12 h 7 min | 4 h | 12% |
| Mon May 10 | 13 h 13 min | 10 h 51 min | 10 h 56 min | 4 h | 21% |
| Tue May 11 | 13 h 15 min | 10 h 53 min | 9 h 37 min | 4 h | 31% |
| Wed May 12 | 13 h 17 min | 10 h 55 min | 8 h 17 min | 3 h 3 min | 42% |
| Thu May 13 | 13 h 19 min | 10 h 57 min | 6 h 59 min | 1 h 44 min | 54% |
| Fri May 14 | 13 h 21 min | 10 h 59 min | 5 h 43 min | 27 min | 65% |
| Sat May 15 | 13 h 24 min | 11 h 1 min | 4 h 30 min | 0 min | 75% |
| Sun May 16 | 13 h 26 min | 11 h 3 min | 3 h 18 min | 0 min | 84% |
| Mon May 17 | 13 h 28 min | 11 h 5 min | 2 h 5 min | 0 min | 91% |
| Tue May 18 | 13 h 30 min | 11 h 6 min | 54 min | 0 min | 96% |
| Wed May 19 | 13 h 32 min | 11 h 8 min | 0 min | 0 min | 99% |
| Thu May 20 | 13 h 34 min | 11 h 10 min | 0 min | 0 min | 100% |
| Fri May 21 | 13 h 35 min | 11 h 11 min | 0 min | 0 min | 99% |
| Sat May 22 | 13 h 37 min | 11 h 13 min | 10 min | 0 min | 96% |
| Sun May 23 | 13 h 39 min | 11 h 15 min | 1 h 7 min | 0 min | 91% |
| Mon May 24 | 13 h 41 min | 11 h 16 min | 2 h 9 min | 0 min | 85% |
| Tue May 25 | 13 h 42 min | 11 h 18 min | 3 h 15 min | 0 min | 78% |
| Wed May 26 | 13 h 44 min | 11 h 19 min | 4 h 21 min | 5 min | 69% |
| Thu May 27 | 13 h 46 min | 11 h 20 min | 5 h 27 min | 1 h 11 min | 60% |
| Fri May 28 | 13 h 47 min | 11 h 22 min | 6 h 33 min | 2 h 16 min | 51% |
| Sat May 29 | 13 h 49 min | 11 h 23 min | 7 h 40 min | 3 h 21 min | 41% |
| Sun May 30 | 13 h 50 min | 11 h 24 min | 8 h 47 min | 4 h | 32% |
| Mon May 31 | 13 h 51 min | 11 h 25 min | 9 h 58 min | 4 h | 22% |
Questions
- Can you see the southern lights in Mosgiel in May?
- On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 31 of 31 nights at Mosgiel have civil darkness, and 0% of past May days reached Kp 9.
- How dark is Mosgiel in May?
- Mosgiel averages 13.4 hours of civil night a night in May 2027, from 12 h 51 min on the 1st to 13 h 51 min on the last night.
- How cloudy is Mosgiel in May?
- NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Mosgiel's 1 degree cell 70% mean cloud in May, against 71% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
- What is the best night in May 2027 for aurora in Mosgiel?
- By darkness and moon alone, May 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Mosgiel. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
- Is May or June better in Mosgiel?
- By civil night times the clear share, May scores 4.0 hours at Mosgiel and June 4.5. June 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.