St.-Petersburg, Russia
Northern lights in Saint Petersburg
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/Moscow
Storm level needed
Saint Petersburg sits at 59.94N 30.31E in St.-Petersburg, Russia. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Saint Petersburg at 56.7 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 3.2 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Saint Petersburg sits at 56.7 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 5, 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 Vsevolozhsk (22 km), Peterhof (24 km), Sertolovo (24 km). Vsevolozhsk sits 0.0 degrees higher 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 Saint Petersburg has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 1.0 hours. Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from July 23 to May 19 across New Year, 301 days in 2026. Saint Petersburg's longest night of the year, Dec 18, has 16 h 2 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Saint Petersburg, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:54 on local clocks on December 15 and 00:59 on June 15. That is 54 min after midnight in December and 59 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Saint Petersburg the darkest hour sits late in SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 15.3 h | 11.9 h | 84% | 2.4 h | |
| Feb | 13.2 h | 9.9 h | 81% | 2.5 h | |
| Mar | 10.7 h | 7.3 h | 71% | 3.1 hbest | |
| Apr | 7.7 h | 2.5 h | 66% | 2.6 h | |
| May | 4.5 h | 0.0 h | 63% | 1.7 h | |
| Jun | 1.0 h | 0.0 h | 67% | 0.3 h | |
| Jul | 3.1 h | 0.0 h | 65% | 1.1 h | |
| Aug | 6.5 h | 0.0 h | 64% | 2.3 h | |
| Sep | 9.6 h | 5.9 h | 70% | 2.9 h | |
| Oct | 12.3 h | 9.1 h | 80% | 2.5 h | |
| Nov | 14.7 h | 11.3 h | 87% | 1.9 h | |
| Dec | 16.0 h | 12.4 h | 88% | 1.9 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Saint Petersburg with 16.0 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 1.0. Across the year Saint Petersburg gets 3,482 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Saint Petersburg, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.4 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Saint Petersburg at 74% across the year, from 63% in May to 88% in December. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Saint Petersburg averages 75%, against a median of 77% for Glow towns in Russia.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives March the best score, 3.1 hours, ahead of September at 2.9. Saint Petersburg's equinox months score 3.1 in March and 2.9 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 5 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Saint Petersburg, on 10% of days. At Saint Petersburg's level the share runs from 5% in December to 14% in September, 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 5. 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/Moscow dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Saint Petersburg have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Saint Petersburg has 11 h 9 min of civil night, 36 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
58% lit
0.6 h
- 3
47% lit
2.1 h
- 4
35% lit
4.0 h
- 5
25% lit
5.8 h
- 6
16% lit
7.5 h
- 7
9% lit
9.2 h
- 8
4% lit
10.8 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.9 h
- 11
2% lit
11.9 h
- 12
5% lit
12.0 h
- 13
10% lit
12.1 h
- 14
17% lit
12.2 h
- 15
25% lit
12.3 h
- 16
33% lit
12.0 h
- 17
43% lit
10.7 h
- 18
52% lit
9.3 h
- 19
62% lit
7.7 h
- 20
71% lit
6.3 h
- 21
79% lit
4.8 h
- 22
87% lit
3.3 h
- 23
93% lit
1.8 h
- 24
98% lit
0.3 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
99% lit
0.0 h
- 27
96% lit
0.0 h
- 28
90% lit
0.0 h
- 29
82% lit
0.0 h
- 30
72% lit
1.1 h
- 31
61% lit
2.9 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.
Within Russia
Among the 4 Glow towns in St.-Petersburg, Saint Petersburg ranks 3rd by dipole latitude against a regional median of 56.7 degrees; Petrodvorets sits highest at 56.8. Among the 77 Glow towns in Russia, Saint Petersburg ranks 50th by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.3 degrees; Nikel sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Saint Petersburg gets 16.0 hours of civil night, 57th longest of 77 in Russia, where the median is 16.7.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Saint Petersburg?
- Saint Petersburg sits at 56.7 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 5, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Clear, dark sky over Saint Petersburg still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Saint Petersburg?
- Every night at Saint Petersburg has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 9 min, and December 15 has 16.0 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Saint Petersburg?
- March, by civil night at Saint Petersburg times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Saint Petersburg in the dark months?
- About 75% mean cloud amount over Saint Petersburg 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 Saint Petersburg?
- A 3-hour Kp of 5 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 10% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Saint Petersburg by month
Region and comparisons