Leningradskaya Oblast', Russia
Northern lights in Nikol'skoye
Answer
Tonight
Waiting on darkness
It is not civil-dark yet. The next dusk is listed below.
Observed 11:55 UTC, forecast 13:26 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Europe/Moscow
Storm level needed
Nikol'skoye sits at 59.70N 30.78E in Leningradskaya Oblast', Russia. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Nikol'skoye at 56.4 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 3.3 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Nikol'skoye sits at 56.4 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 5, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.
"aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Kolpino (12 km), Tosno (19 km), Kirovsk, Leningradskaya Oblast' (23 km). Kolpino sits 0.1 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
Every night of 2026 at Nikol'skoye has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 1.5 hours. Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from July 22 to May 20 across New Year, 303 days in 2026. Nikol'skoye's longest night of the year, Dec 18, has 15 h 59 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Nikol'skoye, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:52 on local clocks on December 15 and 00:57 on June 15. That is 52 min after midnight in December and 57 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Nikol'skoye the darkest hour sits late in SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15.3 h | 11.9 h | 84% | 2.4 h | |
| Feb | 13.1 h | 9.9 h | 81% | 2.5 h | |
| Mar | 10.7 h | 7.3 h | 71% | 3.1 hbest | |
| Apr | 7.7 h | 2.6 h | 66% | 2.6 h | |
| May | 4.5 h | 0.0 h | 63% | 1.7 h | |
| Jun | 1.4 h | 0.0 h | 67% | 0.5 h | |
| Jul | 3.3 h | 0.0 h | 65% | 1.2 h | |
| Aug | 6.6 h | 0.0 h | 64% | 2.4 h | |
| Sep | 9.6 h | 6.0 h | 70% | 2.9 h | |
| Oct | 12.3 h | 9.1 h | 80% | 2.5 h | |
| Nov | 14.7 h | 11.3 h | 87% | 1.9 h | |
| Dec | 15.9 h | 12.4 h | 88% | 1.9 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Nikol'skoye with 16.0 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 1.5. Across the year Nikol'skoye gets 3,502 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Nikol'skoye, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.4 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Nikol'skoye at 74% across the year, from 63% in May to 88% in December. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Nikol'skoye averages 75%, against a median of 77% for Glow towns in Russia.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives March the best score, 3.1 hours, ahead of September at 2.9. Nikol'skoye's equinox months score 3.1 in March and 2.9 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 5 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Nikol'skoye, on 10% of days. At Nikol'skoye's level the share runs from 5% in December to 14% in September, 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 5. 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 Nikol'skoye have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Nikol'skoye has 11 h 10 min of civil night, 41 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
58% lit
0.7 h
- 3
47% lit
2.2 h
- 4
35% lit
4.0 h
- 5
25% lit
5.8 h
- 6
16% lit
7.5 h
- 7
9% lit
9.2 h
- 8
4% lit
10.8 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.9 h
- 11
2% lit
11.9 h
- 12
5% lit
12.0 h
- 13
10% lit
12.1 h
- 14
17% lit
12.2 h
- 15
25% lit
12.3 h
- 16
33% lit
11.9 h
- 17
43% lit
10.7 h
- 18
52% lit
9.2 h
- 19
62% lit
7.7 h
- 20
71% lit
6.2 h
- 21
79% lit
4.8 h
- 22
87% lit
3.3 h
- 23
93% lit
1.8 h
- 24
98% lit
0.3 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
1.2 h
- 31
61% lit
2.9 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.
Within Russia
Among the 20 Glow towns in Leningradskaya Oblast', Nikol'skoye ranks 10th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 56.4 degrees; Priozërsk sits highest at 57.8. Among the 78 Glow towns in Russia, Nikol'skoye ranks 56th by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.3 degrees; Nikel sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Nikol'skoye gets 16.0 hours of civil night, 57th longest of 78 in Russia, where the median is 16.7.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Nikol'skoye?
- Nikol'skoye sits at 56.4 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 5, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Clear, dark sky over Nikol'skoye still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Nikol'skoye?
- Every night at Nikol'skoye has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 10 min, and December 15 has 16.0 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Nikol'skoye?
- March, by civil night at Nikol'skoye times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Nikol'skoye in the dark months?
- About 75% mean cloud amount over Nikol'skoye 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 Nikol'skoye?
- A 3-hour Kp of 5 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 10% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
- Why does this page point to Kolpino?
- Nikol'skoye sits within 15 km of Kolpino with the same rounded dipole latitude, Kp and dark season, so Glow treats Kolpino as the main page for both.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Nikol'skoye by month
Region and comparisons