Can you see the northern lights in Nikel in July?

Not in July 2027. The sun stays above -6 degrees every night at Nikel, so there is no civil darkness.

How dark is Nikel in July?

Nikel averages 0.0 hours of civil night a night in July 2027, from 0 min on the 1st to 0 min on the last night.

How cloudy is Nikel in July?

NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Nikel's 1 degree cell 76% mean cloud in July, against 82% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.

What is the best night in July 2027 for aurora in Nikel?

No night in July 2027 has moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Nikel.

Is July or August better in Nikel?

By civil night times the clear share, July scores 0.0 hours at Nikel and August 0.3. August comes out ahead.

Nikel · July 2027

Northern lights in Nikel in July 2027

Answer

Nikel has no civil darkness in July 2027: the sun stays above -6 degrees on all 31 nights. SWPC notes that "It must also be dark so during the summer months at auroral latitudes, the midnight sun prevents auroral observations."

0.0 h

civil night, average night

SunCalc for 69.41, 30.22; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

July against the rest of the year

3.4

2.8

2.0

1.0

0.0

0.3

1.6

1.7

2.5

2.7

July cloud at Nikel averages 76% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 6 points clearer than its yearly mean. No month at Nikel is clearer. By civil night times clear sky, July scores 0.0 hours at Nikel, 10th of 12. Zapolyarnyy, 23 km away, averages the same 76%.

The sun never gets 6 degrees below the horizon at Nikel in July 2027, so every night is twilight or daylight. Darkness returns in August: 1.3 hours of civil night by the 15th.

July night by night

The moon runs its cycle as usual, new on Jul 4 and full on Jul 18, but with no civil night it makes no difference at Nikel in July.

1
7% lit
no night
2
2% lit
no night
3
0% lit
no night
4
1% lit
no night
New
5
5% lit
no night
6
11% lit
no night
7
20% lit
no night
8
30% lit
no night
9
40% lit
no night
10
51% lit
no night
11
62% lit
no night
12
71% lit
no night
13
80% lit
no night
14
87% lit
no night
15
93% lit
no night
16
97% lit
no night
17
99% lit
no night
18
100% lit
no night
Full
19
99% lit
no night
20
96% lit
no night
21
91% lit
no night
22
85% lit
no night
23
77% lit
no night
24
68% lit
no night
25
59% lit
no night
26
48% lit
no night
27
38% lit
no night
28
27% lit
no night
29
18% lit
no night
30
10% lit
no night
31
4% lit
no night

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 Julys

Quiet activity already puts the oval edge over Nikel, so storm days matter more: 81 of the 930 July days from 1996 to 2025 (9%) reached Kp 5, 8th of 12 months. Nikel sits at 65.7 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 1.

July across Russia

Nikel ranks 6th in Russia for civil night on July 15, behind Velikiy Novgorod at 3.9 hours. Coming from June (0.0 hours at Nikel), July changes little, and the nights keep growing into August (1.3 hours on the 15th).

Civil night on July 15 and July cloud, month-page towns in Russia
Town	Civil night	Cloud
Velikiy Novgorod	3.9 h	63%
Kolpino	3.2 h	65%
Saint Petersburg	3.1 h	65%
Syktyvkar	1.4 h	63%
Petrozavodsk	1.2 h	70%
Nikel	0.0 h	76%
Arkhangel'sk	0.0 h	65%
Murmansk	0.0 h	75%
Severodvinsk	0.0 h	66%
Norilsk	0.0 h	69%
Noyabrsk	0.0 h	66%
Ukhta	0.0 h	65%

Darkness and moon, every night

Nikel, July 2027: each night from local noon to the next noon
Night	Civil	Astronomical	Moon-free dark	Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM	Moon lit
Thu Jul 1	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	7%
Fri Jul 2	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	2%
Sat Jul 3	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	0%
Sun Jul 4	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	1%
Mon Jul 5	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	5%
Tue Jul 6	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	11%
Wed Jul 7	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	20%
Thu Jul 8	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	30%
Fri Jul 9	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	40%
Sat Jul 10	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	51%
Sun Jul 11	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	62%
Mon Jul 12	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	71%
Tue Jul 13	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	80%
Wed Jul 14	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	87%
Thu Jul 15	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	93%
Fri Jul 16	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	97%
Sat Jul 17	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	99%
Sun Jul 18	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	100%
Mon Jul 19	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	99%
Tue Jul 20	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	96%
Wed Jul 21	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	91%
Thu Jul 22	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	85%
Fri Jul 23	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	77%
Sat Jul 24	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	68%
Sun Jul 25	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	59%
Mon Jul 26	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	48%
Tue Jul 27	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	38%
Wed Jul 28	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	27%
Thu Jul 29	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	18%
Fri Jul 30	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	10%
Sat Jul 31	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	4%

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

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Nikel in July?: Not in July 2027. The sun stays above -6 degrees every night at Nikel, so there is no civil darkness.
How dark is Nikel in July?: Nikel averages 0.0 hours of civil night a night in July 2027, from 0 min on the 1st to 0 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Nikel in July?: NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Nikel's 1 degree cell 76% mean cloud in July, against 82% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in July 2027 for aurora in Nikel?: No night in July 2027 has moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Nikel.
Is July or August better in Nikel?: By civil night times the clear share, July scores 0.0 hours at Nikel and August 0.3. August 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.