Oamaru · November 2026
Southern lights in Oamaru in November 2026
Answer
November against the rest of the year
November cloud at Oamaru averages 75% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 4 points cloudier than its yearly mean. July is Oamaru's clearest month at 67%. By civil night times clear sky, November scores 2.0 hours at Oamaru, 10th of 12. Seattle, 12,183 km away, averages 77%, cloudier by 2 points.
Civil night at Oamaru starts November at 8 h 39 min and reaches 7 h 21 min by November 30, 1.3 hours shorter. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. True astronomical darkness, the sun 18 degrees down, lasts 4.8 hours on the 15th.
November night by night
November opens toward a new moon on Nov 9, with full moon on Nov 25, in Pacific/Auckland dates. Oamaru gets 128 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: Nov 1 (4 h), Nov 2 (4 h), Nov 3 (4 h).
- 1
55% lit
6.0 h
- 2
43% lit
6.4 h
- 3
33% lit
6.8 h
- 4
23% lit
7.0 h
- 5
15% lit
7.3 h
- 6
8% lit
7.6 h
- 7
4% lit
7.9 h
- 8
1% lit
8.3 h
- 9
0% lit
8.2 h
- 10
2% lit
7.5 h
- 11
5% lit
6.5 h
- 12
9% lit
5.5 h
- 13
15% lit
4.7 h
- 14
23% lit
4.1 h
- 15
31% lit
3.5 h
- 16
40% lit
3.1 h
- 17
50% lit
2.7 h
- 18
60% lit
2.4 h
- 19
69% lit
2.1 h
- 20
79% lit
1.8 h
- 21
87% lit
1.4 h
- 22
93% lit
1.0 h
- 23
98% lit
0.5 h
- 24
100% lit
0.0 h
- 25
99% lit
0.6 h
- 26
95% lit
1.8 h
- 27
88% lit
2.6 h
- 28
80% lit
3.3 h
- 29
70% lit
3.8 h
- 30
59% lit
4.1 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.
Activity in past Novembers
Oamaru needs Kp 9 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 0 of the 900 November days from 1996 to 2025 (0%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, 4th of 12 months; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%. Oamaru sits at 48.5 degrees geomagnetic. The lowest NOAA storm level whose typical viewing latitude reaches it is G4 (Kp = 8, including a 9-). By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead only at Kp 9.
November across New Zealand
Coming from October (9.6 hours at Oamaru), November loses darkness, and December brings shorter nights (7.0 hours on the 15th).
Darkness and moon, every night
| Night | Civil | Astronomical | Moon-free dark | Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM | Moon lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun Nov 1 | 8 h 39 min | 5 h 49 min | 5 h 59 min | 4 h | 55% |
| Mon Nov 2 | 8 h 36 min | 5 h 45 min | 6 h 24 min | 4 h | 43% |
| Tue Nov 3 | 8 h 32 min | 5 h 40 min | 6 h 45 min | 4 h | 33% |
| Wed Nov 4 | 8 h 29 min | 5 h 36 min | 7 h 2 min | 4 h | 23% |
| Thu Nov 5 | 8 h 26 min | 5 h 31 min | 7 h 19 min | 4 h | 15% |
| Fri Nov 6 | 8 h 23 min | 5 h 27 min | 7 h 36 min | 4 h | 8% |
| Sat Nov 7 | 8 h 20 min | 5 h 22 min | 7 h 55 min | 4 h | 4% |
| Sun Nov 8 | 8 h 17 min | 5 h 18 min | 8 h 16 min | 4 h | 1% |
| Mon Nov 9 | 8 h 14 min | 5 h 13 min | 8 h 14 min | 4 h | 0% |
| Tue Nov 10 | 8 h 11 min | 5 h 9 min | 7 h 31 min | 4 h | 2% |
| Wed Nov 11 | 8 h 8 min | 5 h 4 min | 6 h 27 min | 3 h 3 min | 5% |
| Thu Nov 12 | 8 h 5 min | 5 h | 5 h 30 min | 2 h 8 min | 9% |
| Fri Nov 13 | 8 h 3 min | 4 h 56 min | 4 h 43 min | 1 h 21 min | 15% |
| Sat Nov 14 | 8 h | 4 h 51 min | 4 h 4 min | 43 min | 23% |
| Sun Nov 15 | 7 h 57 min | 4 h 47 min | 3 h 32 min | 13 min | 31% |
| Mon Nov 16 | 7 h 54 min | 4 h 42 min | 3 h 6 min | 0 min | 40% |
| Tue Nov 17 | 7 h 52 min | 4 h 38 min | 2 h 44 min | 0 min | 50% |
| Wed Nov 18 | 7 h 49 min | 4 h 34 min | 2 h 24 min | 0 min | 60% |
| Thu Nov 19 | 7 h 46 min | 4 h 29 min | 2 h 5 min | 0 min | 69% |
| Fri Nov 20 | 7 h 44 min | 4 h 25 min | 1 h 46 min | 0 min | 79% |
| Sat Nov 21 | 7 h 41 min | 4 h 21 min | 1 h 24 min | 0 min | 87% |
| Sun Nov 22 | 7 h 39 min | 4 h 16 min | 59 min | 0 min | 93% |
| Mon Nov 23 | 7 h 36 min | 4 h 12 min | 28 min | 0 min | 98% |
| Tue Nov 24 | 7 h 34 min | 4 h 8 min | 0 min | 0 min | 100% |
| Wed Nov 25 | 7 h 32 min | 4 h 4 min | 37 min | 14 min | 99% |
| Thu Nov 26 | 7 h 30 min | 4 h | 1 h 45 min | 1 h 23 min | 95% |
| Fri Nov 27 | 7 h 27 min | 3 h 56 min | 2 h 38 min | 2 h 18 min | 88% |
| Sat Nov 28 | 7 h 25 min | 3 h 52 min | 3 h 17 min | 2 h 58 min | 80% |
| Sun Nov 29 | 7 h 23 min | 3 h 48 min | 3 h 46 min | 3 h 28 min | 70% |
| Mon Nov 30 | 7 h 21 min | 3 h 44 min | 4 h 8 min | 3 h 52 min | 59% |
Questions
- Can you see the southern lights in Oamaru in November?
- On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 30 of 30 nights at Oamaru have civil darkness, and 0% of past November days reached Kp 9.
- How dark is Oamaru in November?
- Oamaru averages 8.0 hours of civil night a night in November 2026, from 8 h 39 min on the 1st to 7 h 21 min on the last night.
- How cloudy is Oamaru in November?
- NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Oamaru's 1 degree cell 75% mean cloud in November, against 71% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
- What is the best night in November 2026 for aurora in Oamaru?
- By darkness and moon alone, Nov 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Oamaru. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
- Is November or December better in Oamaru?
- By civil night times the clear share, November scores 2.0 hours at Oamaru and December 1.7. November 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.