Nuuk · May 2027
Northern lights in Nuuk in May 2027
Answer
May against the rest of the year
May cloud at Nuuk averages 76% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 3 points cloudier than its yearly mean. July is Nuuk's clearest month at 67%. By civil night times clear sky, May scores 0.3 hours at Nuuk, 10th of 12. Reykjanesbær, 1,405 km away, averages 78%, cloudier by 2 points.
Civil night at Nuuk starts May at 4 h 28 min and reaches 0 min by May 31, 4.5 hours shorter. 15 Nuuk nights this month have no civil darkness at all. No night keeps the 10 PM to 2 AM window fully dark at Nuuk. The sun never reaches 18 degrees down, so Nuuk gets no astronomical night in May.
May night by night
May opens toward a new moon on May 6, with full moon on May 20, in America/Nuuk dates. Nuuk gets 24 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: May 1 (1 h 50 min), May 2 (1 h 46 min), May 3 (1 h 40 min).
- 1
21% lit
4.5 h
- 2
13% lit
4.3 h
- 3
7% lit
4.1 h
- 4
3% lit
4.0 h
- 5
0% lit
3.8 h
- 6
1% lit
3.1 h
- 7
4% lit
0.0 h
- 8
9% lit
0.0 h
- 9
17% lit
0.0 h
- 10
26% lit
0.0 h
- 11
37% lit
0.0 h
- 12
48% lit
0.0 h
- 13
60% lit
0.0 h
- 14
70% lit
0.0 h
- 15
80% lit
0.0 h
- 16
88% lit
0.0 h
- 17
94% lit
no night
- 18
98% lit
no night
- 19
100% lit
no night
- 20
99% lit
no night
- 21
97% lit
no night
- 22
93% lit
no night
- 23
88% lit
no night
- 24
81% lit
no night
- 25
73% lit
no night
- 26
65% lit
no night
- 27
55% lit
no night
- 28
46% lit
no night
- 29
36% lit
no night
- 30
27% lit
no night
- 31
18% 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 Nuuk, so storm days matter more: 97 of the 930 May days from 1996 to 2025 (10%) reached Kp 5, 6th of 12 months. Nuuk sits at 72.5 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 0.
May across Greenland
Coming from April (6.8 hours at Nuuk), May loses darkness, and June brings shorter nights (0.0 hours on the 15th).
Darkness and moon, every night
| Night | Civil | Astronomical | Moon-free dark | Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM | Moon lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat May 1 | 4 h 28 min | 0 min | 4 h 28 min | 1 h 50 min | 21% |
| Sun May 2 | 4 h 18 min | 0 min | 4 h 18 min | 1 h 46 min | 13% |
| Mon May 3 | 4 h 8 min | 0 min | 4 h 8 min | 1 h 40 min | 7% |
| Tue May 4 | 3 h 57 min | 0 min | 3 h 57 min | 1 h 35 min | 3% |
| Wed May 5 | 3 h 46 min | 0 min | 3 h 46 min | 1 h 30 min | 0% |
| Thu May 6 | 3 h 35 min | 0 min | 3 h 9 min | 59 min | 1% |
| Fri May 7 | 3 h 23 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 4% |
| Sat May 8 | 3 h 11 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 9% |
| Sun May 9 | 2 h 58 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 17% |
| Mon May 10 | 2 h 45 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 26% |
| Tue May 11 | 2 h 30 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 37% |
| Wed May 12 | 2 h 15 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 48% |
| Thu May 13 | 1 h 57 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 60% |
| Fri May 14 | 1 h 37 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 70% |
| Sat May 15 | 1 h 13 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 80% |
| Sun May 16 | 35 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 88% |
| Mon May 17 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 94% |
| Tue May 18 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 98% |
| Wed May 19 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 100% |
| Thu May 20 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 99% |
| Fri May 21 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 97% |
| Sat May 22 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 93% |
| Sun May 23 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 88% |
| Mon May 24 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 81% |
| Tue May 25 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 73% |
| Wed May 26 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 65% |
| Thu May 27 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 55% |
| Fri May 28 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 46% |
| Sat May 29 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 36% |
| Sun May 30 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 27% |
| Mon May 31 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 18% |
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Nuuk in May?
- On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 16 of 31 nights at Nuuk have civil darkness, and 10% of past May days reached Kp 5.
- How dark is Nuuk in May?
- Nuuk averages 1.5 hours of civil night a night in May 2027, from 4 h 28 min on the 1st to 0 min on the last night.
- How cloudy is Nuuk in May?
- NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Nuuk's 1 degree cell 76% mean cloud in May, against 73% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
- What is the best night in May 2027 for aurora in Nuuk?
- By darkness and moon alone, May 1, with 1 h 50 min of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Nuuk. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
- Is May or June better in Nuuk?
- By civil night times the clear share, May scores 0.3 hours at Nuuk and June 0.0. May 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.