Central Jutland, Denmark
Northern lights in Silkeborg
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
Silkeborg sits at 56.17N 9.55E in Central Jutland, Denmark. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Silkeborg at 56.3 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 0.1 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Silkeborg sits at 56.3 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 Viborg (33 km), Herning (35 km), Horsens (39 km). Viborg sits 0.3 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 Silkeborg has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 4.0 hours. Glow's dark season, at least 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00, runs from June 25 to June 16 across New Year, 357 days in 2026. Silkeborg's longest night of the year, Dec 19, has 15 h 22 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Silkeborg, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:17 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:22 on June 15. That is 17 min after midnight in December and 1 h 22 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Silkeborg 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 | 14.8 h | 11.7 h | 79% | 3.1 h | |
| Feb | 12.9 h | 10.0 h | 77% | 3.0 h | |
| Mar | 10.8 h | 7.8 h | 67% | 3.6 h | |
| Apr | 8.3 h | 4.3 h | 59% | 3.4 h | |
| May | 5.8 h | 0.0 h | 60% | 2.3 h | |
| Jun | 4.0 h | 0.0 h | 64% | 1.4 h | |
| Jul | 4.9 h | 0.0 h | 67% | 1.6 h | |
| Aug | 7.3 h | 2.4 h | 66% | 2.5 h | |
| Sep | 9.9 h | 6.7 h | 64% | 3.6 h | |
| Oct | 12.2 h | 9.3 h | 69% | 3.8 hbest | |
| Nov | 14.3 h | 11.3 h | 74% | 3.7 h | |
| Dec | 15.3 h | 12.2 h | 77% | 3.5 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Silkeborg with 15.3 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 4.0. Across the year Silkeborg gets 3,659 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Silkeborg, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.2 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Silkeborg at 69% across the year, from 59% in April to 79% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Silkeborg averages 69%, 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, 3.8 hours, ahead of November at 3.7. Silkeborg's equinox months score 3.6 in March and 3.6 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 Silkeborg, on 10% of days. At Silkeborg'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/Copenhagen dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Silkeborg have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Silkeborg has 11 h 13 min of civil night, 1 h 37 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
57% lit
1.6 h
- 3
46% lit
3.0 h
- 4
35% lit
4.6 h
- 5
25% lit
6.3 h
- 6
16% lit
7.8 h
- 7
8% lit
9.4 h
- 8
3% lit
10.8 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.8 h
- 11
2% lit
11.9 h
- 12
5% lit
12.0 h
- 13
11% lit
12.1 h
- 14
17% lit
12.1 h
- 15
25% lit
11.8 h
- 16
34% lit
10.9 h
- 17
43% lit
9.8 h
- 18
52% lit
8.5 h
- 19
62% lit
7.2 h
- 20
71% lit
5.8 h
- 21
80% lit
4.5 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
0.6 h
- 30
71% lit
1.9 h
- 31
60% lit
3.4 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 Central Jutland, Silkeborg ranks 6th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 56.4 degrees; Skive sits highest at 56.8. Among the 33 Glow towns in Denmark, Silkeborg ranks 9th by dipole latitude against a national median of 55.5 degrees; Hjørring sits highest at 57.5. On December 15 Silkeborg gets 15.3 hours of civil night, 8th longest of 33 in Denmark, where the median is 15.3.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Silkeborg?
- Silkeborg sits at 56.3 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 Silkeborg still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Silkeborg?
- Every night at Silkeborg has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 13 min, and December 15 has 15.3 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Silkeborg?
- October, by civil night at Silkeborg times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Silkeborg in the dark months?
- About 69% mean cloud amount over Silkeborg 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 Silkeborg?
- 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
Silkeborg by month
Region and comparisons