Can you see the northern lights in Sosnovyy Bor in September?

On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 30 of 30 nights at Sosnovyy Bor have civil darkness, and 14% of past September days reached Kp 5.

How dark is Sosnovyy Bor in September?

Sosnovyy Bor averages 9.6 hours of civil night a night in September 2027, from 8 h 14 min on the 1st to 10 h 58 min on the last night.

How cloudy is Sosnovyy Bor in September?

NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Sosnovyy Bor's 1 degree cell 72% mean cloud in September, against 75% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.

What is the best night in September 2027 for aurora in Sosnovyy Bor?

By darkness and moon alone, Sep 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Sosnovyy Bor. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.

Is September or October better in Sosnovyy Bor?

By civil night times the clear share, September scores 2.7 hours at Sosnovyy Bor and October 2.1. September comes out ahead.

Sosnovyy Bor · September 2027

Northern lights in Sosnovyy Bor in September 2027

Answer

September gives Sosnovyy Bor 9.6 hours of civil night on the 15th, the 7th darkest of its 12 months, under 72% mean cloud. 14% of September days since 1996 reached Kp 5, enough for the oval edge to reach Sosnovyy Bor.

9.6 h

civil night, average night

SunCalc for 59.90, 29.09; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

September against the rest of the year

1.8

2.2

3.0

2.7

1.8

0.4

1.1

2.3

2.7

2.1

1.6

1.4

September cloud at Sosnovyy Bor averages 72% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 3 points clearer than its yearly mean. May is Sosnovyy Bor's clearest month at 59%. By civil night times clear sky, September scores 2.7 hours at Sosnovyy Bor, 3rd of 12. Saint Petersburg, 69 km away, averages 70%, clearer by 2 points.

Civil night at Sosnovyy Bor starts September at 8 h 14 min and reaches 10 h 58 min by September 30 as the nights lengthen by 2.7 hours. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. True astronomical darkness, the sun 18 degrees down, lasts 5.9 hours on the 15th.

September night by night

Full moon comes first, on Sep 16, then the new moon on Sep 30, in Europe/Moscow dates. Sosnovyy Bor gets 147 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: Sep 1 (4 h), Sep 2 (4 h), Sep 3 (4 h).

1
2% lit
8.2 h
2
7% lit
8.3 h
3
13% lit
8.4 h
4
22% lit
8.5 h
5
31% lit
8.6 h
6
41% lit
8.7 h
7
51% lit
8.8 h
8
61% lit
8.1 h
9
70% lit
6.9 h
10
78% lit
5.5 h
11
85% lit
4.0 h
12
91% lit
2.7 h
13
96% lit
1.3 h
14
99% lit
0.0 h
15
100% lit
0.0 h
16
99% lit
0.0 h
Full
17
96% lit
0.0 h
18
91% lit
0.0 h
19
85% lit
0.0 h
20
77% lit
0.0 h
21
67% lit
0.0 h
22
56% lit
0.5 h
23
45% lit
1.7 h
24
34% lit
3.4 h
25
23% lit
5.2 h
26
14% lit
7.0 h
27
7% lit
8.8 h
28
2% lit
10.6 h
29
0% lit
10.9 h
30
1% lit
11.0 h
New

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 Septembers

Sosnovyy Bor needs Kp 5 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 126 of the 900 September days from 1996 to 2025 (14%) 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 14%. Sosnovyy Bor sits at 56.9 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.

September across Russia

Sosnovyy Bor ranks 2nd in Russia for civil night on September 15, behind Velikiy Novgorod at 9.7 hours. Coming from August (6.5 hours at Sosnovyy Bor), September adds darkness, and the nights keep growing into October (12.3 hours on the 15th). The September equinox falls on September 23, 08:56 Sosnovyy Bor time, inside the weeks SWPC links with larger storms.

Civil night on September 15 and September cloud, month-page towns in Russia
Town	Civil night	Cloud
Velikiy Novgorod	9.7 h	68%
Sosnovyy Bor	9.6 h	72%
Saint Petersburg	9.6 h	70%
Kolpino	9.6 h	70%
Syktyvkar	9.5 h	76%
Petrozavodsk	9.4 h	74%
Noyabrsk	9.3 h	77%
Ukhta	9.3 h	78%
Arkhangel'sk	9.2 h	76%
Severodvinsk	9.2 h	76%
Kostomuksha	9.2 h	74%
Anadyr	9.1 h	69%

Darkness and moon, every night

Sosnovyy Bor, September 2027: each night from local noon to the next noon
Night	Civil	Astronomical	Moon-free dark	Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM	Moon lit
Wed Sep 1	8 h 14 min	3 h 43 min	8 h 14 min	4 h	2%
Thu Sep 2	8 h 20 min	3 h 54 min	8 h 20 min	4 h	7%
Fri Sep 3	8 h 26 min	4 h 5 min	8 h 26 min	4 h	13%
Sat Sep 4	8 h 32 min	4 h 15 min	8 h 32 min	4 h	22%
Sun Sep 5	8 h 38 min	4 h 25 min	8 h 38 min	4 h	31%
Mon Sep 6	8 h 43 min	4 h 35 min	8 h 43 min	4 h	41%
Tue Sep 7	8 h 49 min	4 h 45 min	8 h 49 min	4 h	51%
Wed Sep 8	8 h 55 min	4 h 54 min	8 h 4 min	4 h	61%
Thu Sep 9	9 h 1 min	5 h 3 min	6 h 52 min	3 h 21 min	70%
Fri Sep 10	9 h 6 min	5 h 11 min	5 h 29 min	1 h 55 min	78%
Sat Sep 11	9 h 12 min	5 h 20 min	4 h 3 min	27 min	85%
Sun Sep 12	9 h 18 min	5 h 28 min	2 h 40 min	0 min	91%
Mon Sep 13	9 h 24 min	5 h 37 min	1 h 18 min	0 min	96%
Tue Sep 14	9 h 29 min	5 h 45 min	0 min	0 min	99%
Wed Sep 15	9 h 35 min	5 h 52 min	0 min	0 min	100%
Thu Sep 16	9 h 41 min	6 h	0 min	0 min	99%
Fri Sep 17	9 h 46 min	6 h 8 min	0 min	0 min	96%
Sat Sep 18	9 h 52 min	6 h 15 min	0 min	0 min	91%
Sun Sep 19	9 h 57 min	6 h 23 min	0 min	0 min	85%
Mon Sep 20	10 h 3 min	6 h 30 min	0 min	0 min	77%
Tue Sep 21	10 h 8 min	6 h 37 min	0 min	0 min	67%
Wed Sep 22	10 h 14 min	6 h 44 min	28 min	0 min	56%
Thu Sep 23	10 h 19 min	6 h 51 min	1 h 43 min	0 min	45%
Fri Sep 24	10 h 25 min	6 h 58 min	3 h 23 min	1 h 7 min	34%
Sat Sep 25	10 h 30 min	7 h 4 min	5 h 12 min	2 h 53 min	23%
Sun Sep 26	10 h 36 min	7 h 11 min	7 h 2 min	4 h	14%
Mon Sep 27	10 h 41 min	7 h 18 min	8 h 49 min	4 h	7%
Tue Sep 28	10 h 47 min	7 h 24 min	10 h 33 min	4 h	2%
Wed Sep 29	10 h 52 min	7 h 30 min	10 h 52 min	4 h	0%
Thu Sep 30	10 h 58 min	7 h 37 min	10 h 58 min	4 h	1%

Moon lit: SunCalc illuminated fraction at the middle of the 10 PM to 2 AM window.

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Sosnovyy Bor in September?: On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 30 of 30 nights at Sosnovyy Bor have civil darkness, and 14% of past September days reached Kp 5.
How dark is Sosnovyy Bor in September?: Sosnovyy Bor averages 9.6 hours of civil night a night in September 2027, from 8 h 14 min on the 1st to 10 h 58 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Sosnovyy Bor in September?: NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Sosnovyy Bor's 1 degree cell 72% mean cloud in September, against 75% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in September 2027 for aurora in Sosnovyy Bor?: By darkness and moon alone, Sep 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Sosnovyy Bor. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is September or October better in Sosnovyy Bor?: By civil night times the clear share, September scores 2.7 hours at Sosnovyy Bor and October 2.1. September comes out ahead.

Sources and verification

SunCalchttps://github.com/mourner/suncalc
NASA POWER climatologyhttps://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/climatology/
GFZ Potsdam Kp indexhttps://kp.gfz.de/en/data
NOAA SWPC, Tips on viewing the aurorahttps://www.spaceweather.gov/content/tips-viewing-aurora

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.