Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia
Northern lights in Norilsk
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 Asia/Krasnoyarsk
Storm level needed
Norilsk sits at 69.35N 88.20E in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Norilsk at 60.5 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 8.9 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Norilsk sits at 60.5 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 Talnakh (17 km), Kayyerkan (18 km), Dudinka (80 km). Talnakh 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
From April 28 to August 14 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 109 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 23 to April 19 across New Year, 240 days in 2026. Norilsk's longest night of the year, Dec 20, has 19 h 7 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Norilsk, when the sun is lowest, falls at 01:02 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:07 on June 15. That is 1 h 2 min after midnight in December and 1 h 7 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Norilsk the darkest hour sits late in SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17.7 h | 12.4 h | 55% | 8.0 h | |
| Feb | 14.0 h | 9.4 h | 60% | 5.6 h | |
| Mar | 10.2 h | 4.8 h | 64% | 3.7 h | |
| Apr | 5.0 h | 0.0 h | 67% | 1.6 h | |
| May | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 0.0 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 74% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 69% | 0.0 h | |
| Aug | 1.3 h | 0.0 h | 77% | 0.3 h | |
| Sep | 8.4 h | 0.0 h | 82% | 1.5 h | |
| Oct | 12.6 h | 8.0 h | 79% | 2.6 h | |
| Nov | 16.5 h | 11.6 h | 60% | 6.6 h | |
| Dec | 19.0 h | 13.3 h | 58% | 8.0 hbest |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Norilsk with 19.0 hours of civil night and May the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Norilsk gets 3,178 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Norilsk, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 13.3 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Norilsk at 68% across the year, from 55% in January to 82% in September. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Norilsk averages 66%, against a median of 77% for Glow towns in Russia.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives December the best score, 8.0 hours, ahead of January at 8.0. Norilsk's equinox months score 3.7 in March and 1.5 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 Norilsk, on 50% of days. At Norilsk'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 Asia/Krasnoyarsk dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Norilsk have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 7 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Norilsk has 10 h 53 min of civil night, 0 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
60% lit
0.0 h
- 3
48% lit
0.0 h
- 4
37% lit
0.0 h
- 5
27% lit
3.0 h
- 6
17% lit
6.2 h
- 7
10% lit
8.5 h
- 8
4% lit
10.6 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
12.0 h
- 11
1% lit
12.1 h
- 12
5% lit
12.2 h
- 13
10% lit
12.4 h
- 14
16% lit
12.5 h
- 15
24% lit
12.6 h
- 16
32% lit
12.8 h
- 17
41% lit
12.9 h
- 18
50% lit
13.0 h
- 19
60% lit
13.2 h
- 20
69% lit
8.2 h
- 21
78% lit
6.1 h
- 22
86% lit
4.2 h
- 23
92% lit
2.3 h
- 24
97% lit
0.2 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
99% lit
0.0 h
- 27
97% lit
0.0 h
- 28
91% lit
0.0 h
- 29
83% lit
0.0 h
- 30
74% lit
0.0 h
- 31
63% 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 4 Glow towns in Krasnoyarsk Krai, Norilsk ranks 4th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 60.6 degrees; Dudinka sits highest at 60.6. Among the 77 Glow towns in Russia, Norilsk ranks 16th by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.3 degrees; Nikel sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Norilsk gets 19.0 hours of civil night, 4th longest of 77 in Russia, where the median is 16.7.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Norilsk?
- Norilsk sits at 60.5 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 Norilsk still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Norilsk?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from Apr 28 to Aug 14. Tonight has 10 h 53 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Norilsk?
- December, by civil night at Norilsk times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Norilsk in the dark months?
- About 66% mean cloud amount over Norilsk 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 Norilsk?
- 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.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Norilsk by month
Region and comparisons