Mount Gambier · December 2026
Southern lights in Mount Gambier in December 2026
Answer
December against the rest of the year
December cloud at Mount Gambier averages 55% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 3 points clearer than its yearly mean. January is Mount Gambier's clearest month at 49%. By civil night times clear sky, December scores 3.6 hours at Mount Gambier, 11th of 12. Anadyr, 11,845 km away, averages 60%, cloudier by 5 points.
Civil night at Mount Gambier starts December at 8 h 18 min and reaches 8 h 7 min by December 31, 0.2 hours shorter. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. True astronomical darkness, the sun 18 degrees down, lasts 5.3 hours on the 15th.
December night by night
December opens toward a new moon on Dec 9, with full moon on Dec 24, in Australia/Adelaide dates. Mount Gambier gets 133 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: Dec 2 (4 h), Dec 3 (4 h), Dec 4 (4 h).
- 1
47% lit
4.9 h
- 2
36% lit
5.3 h
- 3
27% lit
5.7 h
- 4
18% lit
6.1 h
- 5
11% lit
6.5 h
- 6
6% lit
7.0 h
- 7
2% lit
7.6 h
- 8
0% lit
8.2 h
- 9
0% lit
8.2 h
- 10
2% lit
7.4 h
- 11
6% lit
6.7 h
- 12
11% lit
6.1 h
- 13
17% lit
5.6 h
- 14
25% lit
5.2 h
- 15
34% lit
4.8 h
- 16
43% lit
4.4 h
- 17
53% lit
4.0 h
- 18
64% lit
3.6 h
- 19
74% lit
3.1 h
- 20
83% lit
2.6 h
- 21
91% lit
1.9 h
- 22
96% lit
1.1 h
- 23
99% lit
0.0 h
- 24
100% lit
0.0 h
- 25
97% lit
0.9 h
- 26
91% lit
1.6 h
- 27
83% lit
2.1 h
- 28
73% lit
2.6 h
- 29
63% lit
3.0 h
- 30
53% lit
3.4 h
- 31
42% lit
3.9 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.
Activity in past Decembers
No whole Kp puts the average oval edge over Mount Gambier by SWPC's rule, so the GFZ record has no threshold to count for December. Mount Gambier sits at 45.3 degrees geomagnetic. The lowest NOAA storm level whose typical viewing latitude reaches it is G4 (Kp = 8, including a 9-). Even Kp 9 does not put the average oval edge overhead by SWPC's rule.
December across Australia
Coming from November (8.8 hours at Mount Gambier), December loses darkness, and the nights keep growing into January (8.4 hours on the 15th). The December solstice falls on December 22, 07:19 Mount Gambier time.
Darkness and moon, every night
| Night | Civil | Astronomical | Moon-free dark | Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM | Moon lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tue Dec 1 | 8 h 18 min | 5 h 35 min | 4 h 54 min | 3 h 41 min | 47% |
| Wed Dec 2 | 8 h 17 min | 5 h 34 min | 5 h 17 min | 4 h | 36% |
| Thu Dec 3 | 8 h 16 min | 5 h 32 min | 5 h 40 min | 4 h | 27% |
| Fri Dec 4 | 8 h 14 min | 5 h 30 min | 6 h 4 min | 4 h | 18% |
| Sat Dec 5 | 8 h 13 min | 5 h 28 min | 6 h 31 min | 4 h | 11% |
| Sun Dec 6 | 8 h 12 min | 5 h 27 min | 7 h 1 min | 4 h | 6% |
| Mon Dec 7 | 8 h 11 min | 5 h 25 min | 7 h 37 min | 4 h | 2% |
| Tue Dec 8 | 8 h 10 min | 5 h 24 min | 8 h 10 min | 4 h | 0% |
| Wed Dec 9 | 8 h 9 min | 5 h 22 min | 8 h 9 min | 4 h | 0% |
| Thu Dec 10 | 8 h 9 min | 5 h 21 min | 7 h 25 min | 4 h | 2% |
| Fri Dec 11 | 8 h 8 min | 5 h 20 min | 6 h 42 min | 3 h 38 min | 6% |
| Sat Dec 12 | 8 h 7 min | 5 h 19 min | 6 h 6 min | 3 h 2 min | 11% |
| Sun Dec 13 | 8 h 7 min | 5 h 18 min | 5 h 36 min | 2 h 31 min | 17% |
| Mon Dec 14 | 8 h 6 min | 5 h 17 min | 5 h 9 min | 2 h 5 min | 25% |
| Tue Dec 15 | 8 h 6 min | 5 h 16 min | 4 h 45 min | 1 h 40 min | 34% |
| Wed Dec 16 | 8 h 5 min | 5 h 16 min | 4 h 22 min | 1 h 17 min | 43% |
| Thu Dec 17 | 8 h 5 min | 5 h 15 min | 4 h | 54 min | 53% |
| Fri Dec 18 | 8 h 4 min | 5 h 15 min | 3 h 36 min | 30 min | 64% |
| Sat Dec 19 | 8 h 4 min | 5 h 15 min | 3 h 8 min | 2 min | 74% |
| Sun Dec 20 | 8 h 4 min | 5 h 14 min | 2 h 36 min | 0 min | 83% |
| Mon Dec 21 | 8 h 4 min | 5 h 14 min | 1 h 55 min | 0 min | 91% |
| Tue Dec 22 | 8 h 4 min | 5 h 14 min | 1 h 3 min | 0 min | 96% |
| Wed Dec 23 | 8 h 4 min | 5 h 14 min | 0 min | 0 min | 99% |
| Thu Dec 24 | 8 h 4 min | 5 h 15 min | 2 min | 0 min | 100% |
| Fri Dec 25 | 8 h 5 min | 5 h 15 min | 54 min | 0 min | 97% |
| Sat Dec 26 | 8 h 5 min | 5 h 16 min | 1 h 35 min | 40 min | 91% |
| Sun Dec 27 | 8 h 5 min | 5 h 16 min | 2 h 8 min | 1 h 14 min | 83% |
| Mon Dec 28 | 8 h 6 min | 5 h 17 min | 2 h 36 min | 1 h 42 min | 73% |
| Tue Dec 29 | 8 h 6 min | 5 h 18 min | 3 h 2 min | 2 h 8 min | 63% |
| Wed Dec 30 | 8 h 7 min | 5 h 18 min | 3 h 26 min | 2 h 32 min | 53% |
| Thu Dec 31 | 8 h 7 min | 5 h 19 min | 3 h 51 min | 2 h 58 min | 42% |
Questions
- Can you see the southern lights in Mount Gambier in December?
- On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 31 of 31 nights at Mount Gambier have civil darkness.
- How dark is Mount Gambier in December?
- Mount Gambier averages 8.1 hours of civil night a night in December 2026, from 8 h 18 min on the 1st to 8 h 7 min on the last night.
- How cloudy is Mount Gambier in December?
- NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Mount Gambier's 1 degree cell 55% mean cloud in December, against 58% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
- What is the best night in December 2026 for aurora in Mount Gambier?
- By darkness and moon alone, Dec 2, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Mount Gambier. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
- Is December or January better in Mount Gambier?
- By civil night times the clear share, December scores 3.6 hours at Mount Gambier and January 4.3. January 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.