Pechora · May 2027
Northern lights in Pechora in May 2027
Answer
May against the rest of the year
May cloud at Pechora averages 73% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 2 points clearer than its yearly mean. July is Pechora's clearest month at 66%. By civil night times clear sky, May scores 0.0 hours at Pechora, 10th of 12. Ukhta, 244 km away, averages 68%, clearer by 5 points.
Civil night at Pechora starts May at 4 h 1 min and reaches 0 min by May 31, 4.0 hours shorter. 19 Pechora nights this month have no civil darkness at all. No night keeps the 10 PM to 2 AM window fully dark at Pechora. The sun never reaches 18 degrees down, so Pechora 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 Europe/Moscow dates. Pechora gets 21 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 (3 h 8 min), May 2 (3 h 2 min), May 3 (2 h 56 min).
- 1
22% lit
4.0 h
- 2
15% lit
3.8 h
- 3
8% lit
3.6 h
- 4
3% lit
3.4 h
- 5
1% lit
3.2 h
- 6
0% lit
3.0 h
- 7
3% lit
0.0 h
- 8
8% lit
0.0 h
- 9
15% lit
0.0 h
- 10
25% lit
0.0 h
- 11
35% lit
0.0 h
- 12
46% lit
0.0 h
- 13
58% lit
no night
- 14
69% lit
no night
- 15
78% lit
no night
- 16
86% lit
no night
- 17
93% lit
no night
- 18
97% lit
no night
- 19
99% lit
no night
- 20
100% lit
no night
- 21
98% lit
no night
- 22
94% lit
no night
- 23
89% lit
no night
- 24
82% lit
no night
- 25
75% lit
no night
- 26
66% lit
no night
- 27
57% lit
no night
- 28
47% lit
no night
- 29
38% lit
no night
- 30
28% lit
no night
- 31
19% 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
Pechora needs Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 206 of the 930 May days from 1996 to 2025 (22%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, 8th of 12 months; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%. Pechora sits at 58.5 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.
May across Russia
Pechora ranks 8th in Russia for civil night on May 15, behind Velikiy Novgorod at 5.0 hours. Coming from April (6.6 hours at Pechora), May loses darkness, and June holds about the same.
| Town | Civil night | Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Velikiy Novgorod | 5.0 h | 61% |
| Saint Petersburg | 4.5 h | 63% |
| Kolpino | 4.5 h | 63% |
| Syktyvkar | 3.6 h | 66% |
| Petrozavodsk | 3.5 h | 73% |
| Noyabrsk | 2.5 h | 74% |
| Ukhta | 2.1 h | 68% |
| Pechora | 0.0 h | 73% |
| Arkhangel'sk | 0.0 h | 70% |
| Murmansk | 0.0 h | 81% |
| Severodvinsk | 0.0 h | 71% |
| Norilsk | 0.0 h | 68% |
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 1 min | 0 min | 4 h 1 min | 3 h 8 min | 22% |
| Sun May 2 | 3 h 49 min | 0 min | 3 h 49 min | 3 h 2 min | 15% |
| Mon May 3 | 3 h 37 min | 0 min | 3 h 37 min | 2 h 56 min | 8% |
| Tue May 4 | 3 h 25 min | 0 min | 3 h 25 min | 2 h 50 min | 3% |
| Wed May 5 | 3 h 11 min | 0 min | 3 h 11 min | 2 h 43 min | 1% |
| Thu May 6 | 2 h 57 min | 0 min | 2 h 57 min | 2 h 36 min | 0% |
| Fri May 7 | 2 h 42 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 3% |
| Sat May 8 | 2 h 26 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 8% |
| Sun May 9 | 2 h 9 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 15% |
| Mon May 10 | 1 h 48 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 25% |
| Tue May 11 | 1 h 24 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 35% |
| Wed May 12 | 49 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 46% |
| Thu May 13 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 58% |
| Fri May 14 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 69% |
| Sat May 15 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 78% |
| Sun May 16 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 86% |
| Mon May 17 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 93% |
| Tue May 18 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 97% |
| Wed May 19 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 99% |
| Thu May 20 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 100% |
| Fri May 21 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 98% |
| Sat May 22 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 94% |
| Sun May 23 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 89% |
| Mon May 24 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 82% |
| Tue May 25 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 75% |
| Wed May 26 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 66% |
| Thu May 27 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 57% |
| Fri May 28 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 47% |
| Sat May 29 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 38% |
| Sun May 30 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 28% |
| Mon May 31 | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 19% |
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Pechora in May?
- On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 12 of 31 nights at Pechora have civil darkness, and 22% of past May days reached Kp 4.
- How dark is Pechora in May?
- Pechora averages 1.0 hours of civil night a night in May 2027, from 4 h 1 min on the 1st to 0 min on the last night.
- How cloudy is Pechora in May?
- NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Pechora's 1 degree cell 73% mean cloud in May, against 75% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
- What is the best night in May 2027 for aurora in Pechora?
- By darkness and moon alone, May 1, with 3 h 8 min of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Pechora. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
- Is May or June better in Pechora?
- By civil night times the clear share, May scores 0.0 hours at Pechora and June 0.0. They are level.
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.