Can you see the northern lights in Nikel in May?

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

How dark is Nikel in May?

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

How cloudy is Nikel in May?

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

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

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

Is May or June better in Nikel?

By civil night times the clear share, May scores 0.0 hours at Nikel and June 0.0. They are level.

Nikel · May 2027

Northern lights in Nikel in May 2027

Answer

Nikel has no civil darkness in May 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

May 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

May cloud at Nikel averages 82% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, close to its yearly mean of 82%. July is Nikel's clearest month at 76%. By civil night times clear sky, May scores 0.0 hours at Nikel, 10th of 12. Zapolyarnyy, 23 km away, averages the same 82%.

The sun never gets 6 degrees below the horizon at Nikel in May 2027, so every night is twilight or daylight. June 15 is still without civil night at Nikel.

May night by night

The moon runs its cycle as usual, new on May 6 and full on May 20, but with no civil night it makes no difference at Nikel in May.

1
22% lit
no night
2
15% lit
no night
3
8% lit
no night
4
3% lit
no night
5
1% lit
no night
6
0% lit
no night
New
7
3% lit
no night
8
8% lit
no night
9
15% lit
no night
10
25% lit
no night
11
35% lit
no night
12
46% lit
no night
13
58% lit
no night
14
69% lit
no night
15
78% lit
no night
16
86% lit
no night
17
93% lit
no night
18
97% lit
no night
19
99% lit
no night
20
100% lit
no night
Full
21
98% lit
no night
22
94% lit
no night
23
89% lit
no night
24
82% lit
no night
25
75% lit
no night
26
66% lit
no night
27
57% lit
no night
28
47% lit
no night
29
38% lit
no night
30
28% lit
no night
31
19% 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 Mays

Quiet activity already puts the oval edge over Nikel, so storm days matter more: 97 of the 930 May days from 1996 to 2025 (10%) reached Kp 5, 6th 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.

May across Russia

Nikel ranks 8th in Russia for civil night on May 15, behind Velikiy Novgorod at 5.0 hours. Coming from April (5.0 hours at Nikel), May loses darkness, and June holds about the same.

Civil night on May 15 and May cloud, month-page towns in Russia
Town	Civil night	Cloud
Velikiy Novgorod	5.0 h	61%
Saint Petersburg	4.5 h	63%
Kolpino	4.5 h	63%
Syktyvkar	3.6 h	66%
Petrozavodsk	3.5 h	73%
Noyabrsk	2.5 h	74%
Ukhta	2.1 h	68%
Nikel	0.0 h	82%
Arkhangel'sk	0.0 h	70%
Murmansk	0.0 h	81%
Severodvinsk	0.0 h	71%
Norilsk	0.0 h	68%

Darkness and moon, every night

Nikel, May 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
Sat May 1	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	22%
Sun May 2	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	15%
Mon May 3	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	8%
Tue May 4	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	3%
Wed May 5	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	1%
Thu May 6	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	0%
Fri May 7	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	3%
Sat May 8	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	8%
Sun May 9	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	15%
Mon May 10	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	25%
Tue May 11	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	35%
Wed May 12	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	46%
Thu May 13	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	58%
Fri May 14	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	69%
Sat May 15	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	78%
Sun May 16	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	86%
Mon May 17	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	93%
Tue May 18	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	97%
Wed May 19	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	99%
Thu May 20	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	100%
Fri May 21	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	98%
Sat May 22	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	94%
Sun May 23	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	89%
Mon May 24	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	82%
Tue May 25	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	75%
Wed May 26	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	66%
Thu May 27	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	57%
Fri May 28	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	47%
Sat May 29	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	38%
Sun May 30	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	28%
Mon May 31	0 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	19%

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

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.