Can you see the northern lights in Norilsk in September?

On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 30 of 30 nights at Norilsk have civil darkness, and 57% of past September days reached Kp 3.

How dark is Norilsk in September?

Norilsk averages 8.4 hours of civil night a night in September 2027, from 6 h 2 min on the 1st to 10 h 34 min on the last night.

How cloudy is Norilsk in September?

NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Norilsk's 1 degree cell 82% mean cloud in September, against 68% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.

What is the best night in September 2027 for aurora in Norilsk?

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

Is September or October better in Norilsk?

By civil night times the clear share, September scores 1.5 hours at Norilsk and October 2.6. October comes out ahead.

Norilsk · September 2027

Northern lights in Norilsk in September 2027

Answer

September gives Norilsk 8.4 hours of civil night on the 15th, the 7th darkest of its 12 months, under 82% mean cloud. 57% of September days since 1996 reached Kp 3, enough for the oval edge to reach Norilsk.

8.4 h

civil night, average night

SunCalc for 69.35, 88.20; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

September against the rest of the year

8.0

5.6

3.7

1.6

0.0

0.3

1.5

2.6

6.6

8.0

September cloud at Norilsk averages 82% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 14 points cloudier than its yearly mean. January is Norilsk's clearest month at 55%. By civil night times clear sky, September scores 1.5 hours at Norilsk, 8th of 12. Talnakh, 17 km away, averages the same 82%.

Civil night at Norilsk starts September at 6 h 2 min and reaches 10 h 34 min by September 30 as the nights lengthen by 4.5 hours. The 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on 29 of 30 nights. The sun never reaches 18 degrees down, so Norilsk gets no astronomical night in September.

September night by night

September opens toward a new moon on Sep 1 and Sep 30, with full moon on Sep 16, in Asia/Krasnoyarsk dates. Norilsk gets 127 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: Sep 3 (4 h), Sep 4 (4 h), Sep 5 (4 h).

1
1% lit
6.0 h
New
2
6% lit
6.2 h
3
12% lit
6.4 h
4
20% lit
6.6 h
5
30% lit
6.8 h
6
40% lit
6.9 h
7
50% lit
7.1 h
8
59% lit
7.3 h
9
68% lit
7.4 h
10
77% lit
7.6 h
11
84% lit
7.8 h
12
91% lit
3.7 h
13
95% lit
1.7 h
14
98% lit
0.0 h
15
100% lit
0.0 h
16
99% lit
0.0 h
Full
17
97% lit
0.0 h
18
92% lit
0.0 h
19
86% lit
0.0 h
20
78% lit
0.0 h
21
69% lit
0.0 h
22
58% lit
0.0 h
23
47% lit
0.0 h
24
36% lit
0.0 h
25
25% lit
1.4 h
26
16% lit
5.3 h
27
8% lit
7.7 h
28
3% lit
10.0 h
29
0% lit
10.4 h
30
1% lit
10.6 h
New

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 Septembers

Norilsk needs Kp 3 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 514 of the 900 September days from 1996 to 2025 (57%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, one of the three most active months for that level; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 14%. 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.

September across Russia

Norilsk ranks 23rd in Russia for civil night on September 15, behind Velikiy Novgorod at 9.7 hours. Coming from August (1.3 hours at Norilsk), September adds darkness, and the nights keep growing into October (12.6 hours on the 15th). The September equinox falls on September 23, 12:56 Norilsk time, inside the weeks SWPC links with larger storms.

Civil night on September 15 and September cloud, month-page towns in Russia
Town	Civil night	Cloud
Velikiy Novgorod	9.7 h	68%
Saint Petersburg	9.6 h	70%
Kolpino	9.6 h	70%
Syktyvkar	9.5 h	76%
Petrozavodsk	9.4 h	74%
Noyabrsk	9.3 h	77%
Ukhta	9.3 h	78%
Arkhangel'sk	9.2 h	76%
Severodvinsk	9.2 h	76%
Kostomuksha	9.2 h	74%
Anadyr	9.1 h	69%
Vorkuta	8.8 h	80%
Norilsk	8.4 h	82%

Darkness and moon, every night

Norilsk, September 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
Wed Sep 1	6 h 2 min	0 min	6 h 2 min	3 h 53 min	1%
Thu Sep 2	6 h 13 min	0 min	6 h 13 min	3 h 59 min	6%
Fri Sep 3	6 h 24 min	0 min	6 h 24 min	4 h	12%
Sat Sep 4	6 h 35 min	0 min	6 h 35 min	4 h	20%
Sun Sep 5	6 h 45 min	0 min	6 h 45 min	4 h	30%
Mon Sep 6	6 h 56 min	0 min	6 h 56 min	4 h	40%
Tue Sep 7	7 h 6 min	0 min	7 h 6 min	4 h	50%
Wed Sep 8	7 h 16 min	0 min	7 h 16 min	4 h	59%
Thu Sep 9	7 h 26 min	0 min	7 h 26 min	4 h	68%
Fri Sep 10	7 h 36 min	0 min	7 h 36 min	4 h	77%
Sat Sep 11	7 h 45 min	0 min	7 h 45 min	4 h	84%
Sun Sep 12	7 h 55 min	0 min	3 h 43 min	41 min	91%
Mon Sep 13	8 h 4 min	0 min	1 h 43 min	0 min	95%
Tue Sep 14	8 h 14 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	98%
Wed Sep 15	8 h 23 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	100%
Thu Sep 16	8 h 32 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	99%
Fri Sep 17	8 h 42 min	24 min	0 min	0 min	97%
Sat Sep 18	8 h 51 min	1 h 31 min	0 min	0 min	92%
Sun Sep 19	9 h	2 h 6 min	0 min	0 min	86%
Mon Sep 20	9 h 8 min	2 h 34 min	0 min	0 min	78%
Tue Sep 21	9 h 17 min	2 h 57 min	0 min	0 min	69%
Wed Sep 22	9 h 26 min	3 h 18 min	0 min	0 min	58%
Thu Sep 23	9 h 35 min	3 h 37 min	0 min	0 min	47%
Fri Sep 24	9 h 43 min	3 h 54 min	0 min	0 min	36%
Sat Sep 25	9 h 52 min	4 h 11 min	1 h 27 min	0 min	25%
Sun Sep 26	10 h 1 min	4 h 26 min	5 h 15 min	3 h 14 min	16%
Mon Sep 27	10 h 9 min	4 h 41 min	7 h 43 min	4 h	8%
Tue Sep 28	10 h 18 min	4 h 54 min	10 h	4 h	3%
Wed Sep 29	10 h 26 min	5 h 8 min	10 h 26 min	4 h	0%
Thu Sep 30	10 h 34 min	5 h 21 min	10 h 34 min	4 h	1%

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

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Norilsk in September?: On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 30 of 30 nights at Norilsk have civil darkness, and 57% of past September days reached Kp 3.
How dark is Norilsk in September?: Norilsk averages 8.4 hours of civil night a night in September 2027, from 6 h 2 min on the 1st to 10 h 34 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Norilsk in September?: NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Norilsk's 1 degree cell 82% mean cloud in September, against 68% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in September 2027 for aurora in Norilsk?: By darkness and moon alone, Sep 3, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Norilsk. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is September or October better in Norilsk?: By civil night times the clear share, September scores 1.5 hours at Norilsk and October 2.6. October 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.