Nenets, Russia
Northern lights in Nar'yan-Mar
Answer
Tonight
Waiting on darkness
It is not civil-dark yet. The next dusk is listed below.
Observed 11:49 UTC, forecast 13:20 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Europe/Moscow
Storm level needed
Nar'yan-Mar sits at 67.64N 53.00E in Nenets, Russia. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Nar'yan-Mar at 61.3 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 6.3 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Nar'yan-Mar sits at 61.3 degrees geomagnetic, inside SWPC's 60 to 75 degree band, where aurora can be seen on more than half of all nights. No storm is needed: by SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 3.
"The best place to observe the aurora is under an oval shaped region between the north and south latitudes of about 60 and 75 degrees. At these polar latitudes, the aurora can be observed more than half of the nights of a given year."
The nearest other Glow towns are Narian-Mar (5 km), Usinsk (268 km), Pechora (335 km). Narian-Mar sits 0.0 degrees higher 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 May 4 to August 8 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 97 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 August 18 to April 23 across New Year, 249 days in 2026. Nar'yan-Mar's longest night of the year, Dec 20, has 18 h 16 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Nar'yan-Mar, when the sun is lowest, falls at 23:23 on local clocks on December 15 and 23:28 on June 15. That is 37 min before midnight in December and 32 min before midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Nar'yan-Mar 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 | 17.1 h | 12.3 h | 70% | 5.1 hbest | |
| Feb | 13.8 h | 9.5 h | 72% | 3.9 h | |
| Mar | 10.3 h | 5.5 h | 74% | 2.7 h | |
| Apr | 5.8 h | 0.0 h | 77% | 1.3 h | |
| May | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 78% | 0.0 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 75% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 70% | 0.0 h | |
| Aug | 3.4 h | 0.0 h | 79% | 0.7 h | |
| Sep | 8.7 h | 2.4 h | 79% | 1.8 h | |
| Oct | 12.6 h | 8.3 h | 88% | 1.5 h | |
| Nov | 16.1 h | 11.6 h | 82% | 2.9 h | |
| Dec | 18.2 h | 13.1 h | 79% | 3.8 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Nar'yan-Mar with 18.2 hours of civil night and May the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Nar'yan-Mar gets 3,190 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Nar'yan-Mar, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 13.1 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Nar'yan-Mar at 77% across the year, from 70% in January to 88% in October. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Nar'yan-Mar averages 78%, against a median of 77% for Glow towns in Russia.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives January the best score, 5.1 hours, ahead of February at 3.9. Nar'yan-Mar's equinox months score 2.7 in March and 1.8 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 3 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Nar'yan-Mar, on 50% of days. At Nar'yan-Mar's level the share runs from 43% in June to 58% in March, 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 3. 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 Nar'yan-Mar have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 7 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Nar'yan-Mar has 10 h 58 min of civil night, 0 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
58% lit
0.0 h
- 3
47% lit
0.0 h
- 4
35% lit
0.0 h
- 5
25% lit
4.3 h
- 6
16% lit
6.7 h
- 7
9% lit
8.8 h
- 8
4% lit
10.8 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.9 h
- 11
2% lit
12.1 h
- 12
5% lit
12.2 h
- 13
10% lit
12.3 h
- 14
17% lit
12.4 h
- 15
25% lit
12.6 h
- 16
33% lit
12.7 h
- 17
43% lit
12.8 h
- 18
52% lit
12.9 h
- 19
62% lit
9.9 h
- 20
71% lit
7.5 h
- 21
79% lit
5.7 h
- 22
87% lit
3.9 h
- 23
93% lit
2.0 h
- 24
98% lit
0.1 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
0.0 h
- 31
61% lit
0.0 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.
Within Russia
Among the 2 Glow towns in Nenets, Nar'yan-Mar ranks 2nd by dipole latitude against a regional median of 61.3 degrees; Narian-Mar sits highest at 61.3. Among the 78 Glow towns in Russia, Nar'yan-Mar ranks 12th by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.4 degrees; Nikel sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Nar'yan-Mar gets 18.2 hours of civil night, 11th longest of 78 in Russia, where the median is 16.8.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Nar'yan-Mar?
- Nar'yan-Mar sits at 61.3 degrees geomagnetic, inside SWPC's 60 to 75 degree band, where aurora can be seen on more than half of all nights. No storm is needed: by SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 3. Clear, dark sky over Nar'yan-Mar still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Nar'yan-Mar?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from May 4 to Aug 8. Tonight has 10 h 58 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Nar'yan-Mar?
- January, by civil night at Nar'yan-Mar times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Nar'yan-Mar in the dark months?
- About 78% mean cloud amount over Nar'yan-Mar 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 Nar'yan-Mar?
- A 3-hour Kp of 3 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 50% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
- Why does this page point to Narian-Mar?
- Nar'yan-Mar sits within 15 km of Narian-Mar with the same rounded dipole latitude, Kp and dark season, so Glow treats Narian-Mar as the main page for both.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Nar'yan-Mar by month
Region and comparisons