Pirkanmaa, Finland
Northern lights in Sastamala
Answer
Tonight
Waiting on darkness
It is not civil-dark yet. The next dusk is listed below.
Observed 11:49 UTC, forecast 13:20 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Europe/Helsinki
Storm level needed
Sastamala sits at 61.35N 22.91E in Pirkanmaa, Finland. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Sastamala at 59.2 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 2.2 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Sastamala sits at 59.2 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.
"aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Nokia (34 km), Ylöjärvi (43 km), Lempäälä (45 km). Nokia 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
From June 2 to July 9 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 38 nights in 2026 have no civil darkness at all. SWPC puts it plainly: "It must also be dark so during the summer months at auroral latitudes, the midnight sun prevents auroral observations." Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from July 29 to May 13 across New Year, 289 days in 2026. Sastamala's longest night of the year, Dec 19, has 16 h 20 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Sastamala, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:23 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:29 on June 15. That is 23 min after midnight in December and 1 h 29 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Sastamala 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 | 15.6 h | 11.9 h | 84% | 2.5 h | |
| Feb | 13.3 h | 9.9 h | 79% | 2.8 h | |
| Mar | 10.6 h | 7.0 h | 69% | 3.3 hbest | |
| Apr | 7.4 h | 0.8 h | 67% | 2.4 h | |
| May | 3.8 h | 0.0 h | 63% | 1.4 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 66% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 1.9 h | 0.0 h | 66% | 0.6 h | |
| Aug | 6.2 h | 0.0 h | 65% | 2.2 h | |
| Sep | 9.5 h | 5.5 h | 69% | 2.9 h | |
| Oct | 12.3 h | 9.0 h | 80% | 2.5 h | |
| Nov | 14.9 h | 11.4 h | 87% | 1.9 h | |
| Dec | 16.3 h | 12.5 h | 84% | 2.6 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Sastamala with 16.3 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Sastamala gets 3,378 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Sastamala, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.5 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Sastamala at 73% across the year, from 63% in May to 87% in November. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Sastamala averages 76%, against a median of 76% for Glow towns in Finland.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives March the best score, 3.3 hours, ahead of September at 2.9. Sastamala's equinox months score 3.3 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 4 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Sastamala, on 24% of days. At Sastamala's level the share runs from 19% in December to 31% 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 4. 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/Helsinki dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Sastamala have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Sastamala has 11 h 8 min of civil night, 3 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
58% lit
0.1 h
- 3
47% lit
1.8 h
- 4
35% lit
3.7 h
- 5
25% lit
5.7 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
12.0 h
- 12
5% lit
12.1 h
- 13
10% lit
12.2 h
- 14
17% lit
12.3 h
- 15
25% lit
12.3 h
- 16
33% lit
12.4 h
- 17
43% lit
11.2 h
- 18
52% lit
9.5 h
- 19
62% lit
7.9 h
- 20
71% lit
6.4 h
- 21
79% lit
4.9 h
- 22
87% lit
3.4 h
- 23
93% lit
1.8 h
- 24
98% lit
0.2 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
81% lit
0.0 h
- 30
72% lit
0.8 h
- 31
61% lit
2.7 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 Finland
Among the 7 Glow towns in Pirkanmaa, Sastamala ranks 4th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 59.2 degrees; Ylöjärvi sits highest at 59.3. Among the 65 Glow towns in Finland, Sastamala ranks 30th by dipole latitude against a national median of 59.0 degrees; Rovaniemi sits highest at 63.6. On December 15 Sastamala gets 16.3 hours of civil night, 28th longest of 65 in Finland, where the median is 16.3.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Sastamala?
- Sastamala sits at 59.2 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. Clear, dark sky over Sastamala still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Sastamala?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from Jun 2 to Jul 9. Tonight has 11 h 8 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Sastamala?
- March, by civil night at Sastamala times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Sastamala in the dark months?
- About 76% mean cloud amount over Sastamala 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 Sastamala?
- A 3-hour Kp of 4 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 24% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Sastamala by month
Region and comparisons