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Queenstown · July 2027

Southern lights in Queenstown in July 2027

Answer

July gives Queenstown 13.7 hours of civil night on the 15th, the 2nd darkest of its 12 months, under 63% mean cloud. 0% of July days since 1996 reached Kp 9, enough for the oval edge to reach Queenstown.
13.7 h
civil night, average night
SunCalc for -45.03, 168.66; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

July against the rest of the year

July cloud at Queenstown averages 63% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 4 points clearer than its yearly mean. No month at Queenstown is clearer. That makes July the best month of Queenstown's year by civil night times clear sky, 5.1 hours. Anadyr, 12,230 km away, averages 71%, cloudier by 8 points.

Civil night at Queenstown starts July at 13 h 57 min and reaches 13 h 14 min by July 31, 0.7 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 11.3 hours on the 15th.

July night by night

July opens toward a new moon on Jul 4, with full moon on Jul 19, in Pacific/Auckland dates. Queenstown gets 214 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: Jul 1 (4 h), Jul 2 (4 h), Jul 3 (4 h).

  1. 1

    10% lit

    12.6 h

  2. 2

    4% lit

    13.8 h

  3. 3

    1% lit

    13.9 h

  4. 4

    0% lit

    13.9 h

  5. 5

    3% lit

    13.4 h

  6. 6

    8% lit

    12.0 h

  7. 7

    16% lit

    10.6 h

  8. 8

    26% lit

    9.3 h

  9. 9

    36% lit

    8.0 h

  10. 10

    47% lit

    6.8 h

  11. 11

    58% lit

    5.5 h

  12. 12

    68% lit

    4.3 h

  13. 13

    77% lit

    3.2 h

  14. 14

    85% lit

    2.1 h

  15. 15

    91% lit

    1.1 h

  16. 16

    96% lit

    0.3 h

  17. 17

    99% lit

    0.0 h

  18. 18

    100% lit

    0.0 h

  19. 19

    99% lit

    0.0 h

  20. 20

    97% lit

    0.9 h

  21. 21

    93% lit

    2.0 h

  22. 22

    87% lit

    3.0 h

  23. 23

    80% lit

    4.1 h

  24. 24

    72% lit

    5.2 h

  25. 25

    62% lit

    6.3 h

  26. 26

    52% lit

    7.4 h

  27. 27

    42% lit

    8.6 h

  28. 28

    31% lit

    9.8 h

  29. 29

    21% lit

    11.0 h

  30. 30

    12% lit

    12.1 h

  31. 31

    6% lit

    12.9 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 Julys

Queenstown needs Kp 9 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 1 of the 930 July days from 1996 to 2025 (0%) 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 9%. Queenstown sits at 48.8 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.

July across New Zealand

Coming from June (14.0 hours at Queenstown), July loses darkness, and August brings shorter nights (12.6 hours on the 15th).

Darkness and moon, every night

Queenstown, July 2027: each night from local noon to the next noon
NightCivilAstronomicalMoon-free darkMoon-free, 10 PM to 2 AMMoon lit
Thu Jul 113 h 57 min11 h 32 min12 h 35 min4 h10%
Fri Jul 213 h 57 min11 h 32 min13 h 45 min4 h4%
Sat Jul 313 h 56 min11 h 31 min13 h 56 min4 h1%
Sun Jul 413 h 55 min11 h 30 min13 h 55 min4 h0%
Mon Jul 513 h 54 min11 h 30 min13 h 24 min4 h3%
Tue Jul 613 h 54 min11 h 29 min11 h 58 min4 h8%
Wed Jul 713 h 53 min11 h 28 min10 h 35 min4 h16%
Thu Jul 813 h 52 min11 h 27 min9 h 16 min3 h 29 min26%
Fri Jul 913 h 51 min11 h 26 min7 h 59 min2 h 14 min36%
Sat Jul 1013 h 49 min11 h 25 min6 h 45 min1 h47%
Sun Jul 1113 h 48 min11 h 24 min5 h 32 min0 min58%
Mon Jul 1213 h 47 min11 h 23 min4 h 21 min0 min68%
Tue Jul 1313 h 46 min11 h 22 min3 h 11 min0 min77%
Wed Jul 1413 h 44 min11 h 21 min2 h 6 min0 min85%
Thu Jul 1513 h 43 min11 h 20 min1 h 9 min0 min91%
Fri Jul 1613 h 42 min11 h 19 min20 min0 min96%
Sat Jul 1713 h 40 min11 h 17 min0 min0 min99%
Sun Jul 1813 h 39 min11 h 16 min0 min0 min100%
Mon Jul 1913 h 37 min11 h 14 min0 min0 min99%
Tue Jul 2013 h 35 min11 h 13 min56 min0 min97%
Wed Jul 2113 h 34 min11 h 12 min1 h 59 min0 min93%
Thu Jul 2213 h 32 min11 h 10 min3 h 2 min0 min87%
Fri Jul 2313 h 30 min11 h 8 min4 h 5 min11 min80%
Sat Jul 2413 h 28 min11 h 7 min5 h 9 min1 h 16 min72%
Sun Jul 2513 h 26 min11 h 5 min6 h 15 min2 h 23 min62%
Mon Jul 2613 h 24 min11 h 4 min7 h 24 min3 h 34 min52%
Tue Jul 2713 h 23 min11 h 2 min8 h 37 min4 h42%
Wed Jul 2813 h 21 min11 h9 h 51 min4 h31%
Thu Jul 2913 h 19 min10 h 58 min11 h 2 min4 h21%
Fri Jul 3013 h 16 min10 h 56 min12 h 5 min4 h12%
Sat Jul 3113 h 14 min10 h 54 min12 h 57 min4 h6%
Moon lit: SunCalc illuminated fraction at the middle of the 10 PM to 2 AM window.

Questions

Can you see the southern lights in Queenstown in July?
On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 31 of 31 nights at Queenstown have civil darkness, and 0% of past July days reached Kp 9.
How dark is Queenstown in July?
Queenstown averages 13.7 hours of civil night a night in July 2027, from 13 h 57 min on the 1st to 13 h 14 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Queenstown in July?
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Queenstown's 1 degree cell 63% mean cloud in July, against 67% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in July 2027 for aurora in Queenstown?
By darkness and moon alone, Jul 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Queenstown. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is July or August better in Queenstown?
By civil night times the clear share, July scores 5.1 hours at Queenstown and August 4.3. July comes out ahead.

Sources and verification

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.