Can you see the northern lights in Narian-Mar in December?

On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 31 of 31 nights at Narian-Mar have civil darkness, and 43% of past December days reached Kp 3.

How dark is Narian-Mar in December?

Narian-Mar averages 18.1 hours of civil night a night in December 2026, from 17 h 30 min on the 1st to 18 h 4 min on the last night.

How cloudy is Narian-Mar in December?

NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Narian-Mar's 1 degree cell 79% mean cloud in December, against 77% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.

What is the best night in December 2026 for aurora in Narian-Mar?

By darkness and moon alone, Dec 3, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Narian-Mar. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.

Is December or January better in Narian-Mar?

By civil night times the clear share, December scores 3.8 hours at Narian-Mar and January 5.1. January comes out ahead.

Narian-Mar · December 2026

Northern lights in Narian-Mar in December 2026

Answer

December gives Narian-Mar 18.2 hours of civil night on the 15th, the darkest month of its year, under 79% mean cloud. 43% of December days since 1996 reached Kp 3, enough for the oval edge to reach Narian-Mar.

18.1 h

civil night, average night

SunCalc for 67.67, 53.10; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

December against the rest of the year

5.1

3.9

2.7

1.3

0.0

0.7

1.8

1.5

2.9

3.8

December cloud at Narian-Mar averages 79% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 2 points cloudier than its yearly mean. January is Narian-Mar's clearest month at 70%. By civil night times clear sky, December scores 3.8 hours at Narian-Mar, 3rd of 12. Vorgashor, 452 km away, averages 72%, clearer by 7 points.

Civil night at Narian-Mar starts December at 17 h 30 min and reaches 18 h 4 min by December 31 as the nights lengthen by 0.6 hours. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. True astronomical darkness, the sun 18 degrees down, lasts 13.1 hours on the 15th.

December night by night

December opens toward a new moon on Dec 9, with full moon on Dec 24, in Europe/Kirov dates. Narian-Mar gets 303 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 3 (4 h), Dec 4 (4 h), Dec 5 (4 h).

1
43% lit
8.9 h
2
33% lit
10.8 h
3
24% lit
12.6 h
4
16% lit
14.6 h
5
9% lit
17.0 h
6
5% lit
17.8 h
7
1% lit
17.9 h
8
0% lit
17.9 h
9
1% lit
18.0 h
New
10
3% lit
18.0 h
11
7% lit
18.1 h
12
13% lit
18.1 h
13
20% lit
15.3 h
14
28% lit
13.3 h
15
37% lit
11.5 h
16
46% lit
9.8 h
17
57% lit
8.0 h
18
67% lit
6.1 h
19
77% lit
4.0 h
20
86% lit
0.9 h
21
93% lit
0.0 h
22
98% lit
0.0 h
23
100% lit
0.0 h
24
99% lit
0.0 h
Full
25
95% lit
0.0 h
26
89% lit
2.1 h
27
80% lit
4.5 h
28
70% lit
6.6 h
29
60% lit
8.5 h
30
49% lit
10.3 h
31
39% lit
12.2 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

Narian-Mar needs Kp 3 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 404 of the 930 December days from 1996 to 2025 (43%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, one of the three quietest months for that level; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 5%. Narian-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.

December across Russia

Narian-Mar ranks 11th in Russia for civil night on December 15, behind Talnakh at 19.1 hours. Coming from November (16.1 hours at Narian-Mar), December adds darkness, and January brings shorter nights (17.1 hours on the 15th). The December solstice falls on December 21, 23:49 Narian-Mar time.

Civil night on December 15 and December cloud, month-page towns in Russia
Town	Civil night	Cloud
Talnakh	19.1 h	58%
Zapolyarnyy	19.1 h	86%
Nikel	19.1 h	86%
Norilsk	19.0 h	58%
Kayyerkan	19.0 h	59%
Dudinka	19.0 h	59%
Severomorsk	18.9 h	85%
Murmansk	18.8 h	84%
Olenegorsk	18.4 h	84%
Monchegorsk	18.3 h	80%
Narian-Mar	18.2 h	79%
Apatity	18.2 h	80%

Darkness and moon, every night

Narian-Mar, December 2026: each night from local noon to the next noon
Night	Civil	Astronomical	Moon-free dark	Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM	Moon lit
Tue Dec 1	17 h 30 min	12 h 37 min	8 h 54 min	1 h 27 min	43%
Wed Dec 2	17 h 34 min	12 h 39 min	10 h 46 min	3 h 17 min	33%
Thu Dec 3	17 h 38 min	12 h 42 min	12 h 38 min	4 h	24%
Fri Dec 4	17 h 42 min	12 h 45 min	14 h 37 min	4 h	16%
Sat Dec 5	17 h 46 min	12 h 47 min	17 h 2 min	4 h	9%
Sun Dec 6	17 h 49 min	12 h 50 min	17 h 49 min	4 h	5%
Mon Dec 7	17 h 53 min	12 h 52 min	17 h 53 min	4 h	1%
Tue Dec 8	17 h 56 min	12 h 54 min	17 h 56 min	4 h	0%
Wed Dec 9	17 h 59 min	12 h 56 min	17 h 59 min	4 h	1%
Thu Dec 10	18 h 1 min	12 h 58 min	18 h 1 min	4 h	3%
Fri Dec 11	18 h 4 min	13 h	18 h 4 min	4 h	7%
Sat Dec 12	18 h 6 min	13 h 1 min	18 h 6 min	4 h	13%
Sun Dec 13	18 h 8 min	13 h 2 min	15 h 20 min	4 h	20%
Mon Dec 14	18 h 10 min	13 h 4 min	13 h 18 min	4 h	28%
Tue Dec 15	18 h 12 min	13 h 5 min	11 h 30 min	4 h	37%
Wed Dec 16	18 h 13 min	13 h 5 min	9 h 47 min	3 h 16 min	46%
Thu Dec 17	18 h 14 min	13 h 6 min	8 h 1 min	1 h 30 min	57%
Fri Dec 18	18 h 15 min	13 h 7 min	6 h 8 min	0 min	67%
Sat Dec 19	18 h 16 min	13 h 7 min	3 h 59 min	0 min	77%
Sun Dec 20	18 h 16 min	13 h 7 min	53 min	0 min	86%
Mon Dec 21	18 h 16 min	13 h 7 min	0 min	0 min	93%
Tue Dec 22	18 h 16 min	13 h 7 min	0 min	0 min	98%
Wed Dec 23	18 h 16 min	13 h 7 min	0 min	0 min	100%
Thu Dec 24	18 h 15 min	13 h 7 min	0 min	0 min	99%
Fri Dec 25	18 h 14 min	13 h 6 min	0 min	0 min	95%
Sat Dec 26	18 h 13 min	13 h 5 min	2 h 6 min	0 min	89%
Sun Dec 27	18 h 12 min	13 h 5 min	4 h 31 min	0 min	80%
Mon Dec 28	18 h 10 min	13 h 4 min	6 h 35 min	0 min	70%
Tue Dec 29	18 h 8 min	13 h 2 min	8 h 29 min	54 min	60%
Wed Dec 30	18 h 6 min	13 h 1 min	10 h 19 min	2 h 46 min	49%
Thu Dec 31	18 h 4 min	13 h	12 h 14 min	4 h	39%

Moon lit: SunCalc illuminated fraction at the middle of the 10 PM to 2 AM window.

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Narian-Mar in December?: On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 31 of 31 nights at Narian-Mar have civil darkness, and 43% of past December days reached Kp 3.
How dark is Narian-Mar in December?: Narian-Mar averages 18.1 hours of civil night a night in December 2026, from 17 h 30 min on the 1st to 18 h 4 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Narian-Mar in December?: NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Narian-Mar's 1 degree cell 79% mean cloud in December, against 77% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in December 2026 for aurora in Narian-Mar?: By darkness and moon alone, Dec 3, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Narian-Mar. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is December or January better in Narian-Mar?: By civil night times the clear share, December scores 3.8 hours at Narian-Mar and January 5.1. 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.