Zealand, Denmark
Northern lights in Ringsted
Answer
Tonight
Waiting on darkness
It is not civil-dark yet. The next dusk is listed below.
Observed 11:55 UTC, forecast 13:26 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Europe/Copenhagen
Storm level needed
Ringsted sits at 55.44N 11.79E in Zealand, Denmark. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Ringsted at 55.2 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 0.2 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Ringsted sits at 55.2 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.
"aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Køge (25 km), Slagelse (28 km), Roskilde (29 km). Køge sits 0.0 degrees lower on the dipole and needs the same Kp.
Approximate: SWPC calls its Kp to latitude rule an average, and a centered dipole can differ by a degree from fuller field models. How the storm level is matched
The year in darkness
Every night of 2026 at Ringsted has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 4.3 hours. Every evening of the year at Ringsted clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. Ringsted's longest night of the year, Dec 18, has 15 h 15 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Ringsted, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:08 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:13 on June 15. That is 8 min after midnight in December and 1 h 13 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Ringsted the darkest hour sits near the middle of SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window in winter.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14.7 h | 11.7 h | 80% | 2.9 h | |
| Feb | 12.9 h | 10.1 h | 78% | 2.8 h | |
| Mar | 10.8 h | 7.9 h | 68% | 3.5 h | |
| Apr | 8.3 h | 4.6 h | 57% | 3.6 h | |
| May | 6.0 h | 0.0 h | 59% | 2.5 h | |
| Jun | 4.3 h | 0.0 h | 62% | 1.6 h | |
| Jul | 5.1 h | 0.0 h | 63% | 1.9 h | |
| Aug | 7.5 h | 2.8 h | 63% | 2.8 h | |
| Sep | 9.9 h | 6.8 h | 62% | 3.8 h | |
| Oct | 12.2 h | 9.3 h | 68% | 3.9 hbest | |
| Nov | 14.2 h | 11.2 h | 76% | 3.4 h | |
| Dec | 15.2 h | 12.1 h | 79% | 3.2 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Ringsted with 15.2 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 4.3. Across the year Ringsted gets 3,681 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Ringsted, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.1 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Ringsted at 68% across the year, from 57% in April to 80% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Ringsted averages 68%, against a median of 70% for Glow towns in Denmark.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives October the best score, 3.9 hours, ahead of September at 3.8. Ringsted's equinox months score 3.5 in March and 3.8 in September, the weeks SWPC links with larger storms.
Kp history
From 1996 to 2025, the GFZ Potsdam record shows a 3-hour Kp of 6 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Ringsted, on 3% of days. At Ringsted's level the share runs from 1% in December to 5% in October, while storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%.
Share of UTC days in each calendar month whose highest 3-hour Kp reached Kp 6. Kp history by year
Moon, next 30 nights
Over the 30 nights from Oct 2, the new moon falls on Oct 10 and the full moon on Oct 26, in Europe/Copenhagen dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Ringsted have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Ringsted has 11 h 13 min of civil night, 1 h 44 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
57% lit
1.7 h
- 3
46% lit
3.1 h
- 4
35% lit
4.7 h
- 5
25% lit
6.3 h
- 6
16% lit
7.9 h
- 7
8% lit
9.4 h
- 8
3% lit
10.8 h
- 9
1% lit
11.7 h
- 10
0% lit
11.8 h
- 11
2% lit
11.9 h
- 12
5% lit
12.0 h
- 13
11% lit
12.0 h
- 14
17% lit
12.1 h
- 15
25% lit
11.6 h
- 16
34% lit
10.8 h
- 17
43% lit
9.7 h
- 18
52% lit
8.4 h
- 19
62% lit
7.1 h
- 20
71% lit
5.8 h
- 21
80% lit
4.4 h
- 22
87% lit
3.1 h
- 23
94% lit
1.7 h
- 24
98% lit
0.3 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
99% lit
0.0 h
- 27
95% lit
0.0 h
- 28
89% lit
0.0 h
- 29
81% lit
0.7 h
- 30
71% lit
1.9 h
- 31
60% lit
3.5 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.
Within Denmark
Among the 8 Glow towns in Zealand, Ringsted ranks 6th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 55.3 degrees; Kalundborg sits highest at 55.6. Among the 33 Glow towns in Denmark, Ringsted ranks 27th by dipole latitude against a national median of 55.5 degrees; Hjørring sits highest at 57.5. On December 15 Ringsted gets 15.2 hours of civil night, 19th longest of 33 in Denmark, where the median is 15.3.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Ringsted?
- Ringsted sits at 55.2 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Clear, dark sky over Ringsted still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Ringsted?
- Every night at Ringsted has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 13 min, and December 15 has 15.2 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Ringsted?
- October, by civil night at Ringsted times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Ringsted in the dark months?
- About 68% mean cloud amount over Ringsted in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology.
- How often is activity high enough for Ringsted?
- A 3-hour Kp of 6 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 3% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Ringsted by month
Region and comparisons