Can you see the northern lights in Tarko-Sale in May?

On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 13 of 31 nights at Tarko-Sale have civil darkness, and 10% of past May days reached Kp 5.

How dark is Tarko-Sale in May?

Tarko-Sale averages 1.2 hours of civil night a night in May 2027, from 4 h 9 min on the 1st to 0 min on the last night.

How cloudy is Tarko-Sale in May?

NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Tarko-Sale's 1 degree cell 75% mean cloud in May, against 70% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.

What is the best night in May 2027 for aurora in Tarko-Sale?

By darkness and moon alone, May 1, with 3 h 50 min of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Tarko-Sale. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.

Is May or June better in Tarko-Sale?

By civil night times the clear share, May scores 0.0 hours at Tarko-Sale and June 0.0. They are level.

Tarko-Sale · May 2027

Northern lights in Tarko-Sale in May 2027

Answer

May gives Tarko-Sale 0.0 hours of civil night on the 15th, the 10th darkest of its 12 months, under 75% mean cloud. 10% of May days since 1996 reached Kp 5, enough for the oval edge to reach Tarko-Sale.

1.2 h

civil night, average night

SunCalc for 64.92, 77.77; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

May against the rest of the year

5.9

5.3

3.5

2.2

0.0

1.4

2.2

1.6

4.2

6.2

May cloud at Tarko-Sale averages 75% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 5 points cloudier than its yearly mean. February is Tarko-Sale's clearest month at 61%. By civil night times clear sky, May scores 0.0 hours at Tarko-Sale, 10th of 12. Noyabrsk, 223 km away, averages 74%, clearer by 1 points.

Civil night at Tarko-Sale starts May at 4 h 9 min and reaches 0 min by May 31, 4.2 hours shorter. 18 Tarko-Sale nights this month have no civil darkness at all. No night keeps the 10 PM to 2 AM window fully dark at Tarko-Sale. The sun never reaches 18 degrees down, so Tarko-Sale gets no astronomical night in May.

May night by night

May opens toward a new moon on May 6, with full moon on May 20, in Asia/Yekaterinburg dates. Tarko-Sale gets 22 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: May 1 (3 h 50 min), May 2 (3 h 44 min), May 3 (3 h 39 min).

1
23% lit
4.2 h
2
15% lit
4.0 h
3
9% lit
3.8 h
4
4% lit
3.6 h
5
1% lit
3.4 h
6
0% lit
3.1 h
New
7
3% lit
0.0 h
8
7% lit
0.0 h
9
15% lit
0.0 h
10
24% lit
0.0 h
11
34% lit
0.0 h
12
46% lit
0.0 h
13
57% lit
0.0 h
14
68% lit
no night
15
77% lit
no night
16
86% lit
no night
17
92% lit
no night
18
97% lit
no night
19
99% lit
no night
20
100% lit
no night
Full
21
98% lit
no night
22
95% lit
no night
23
90% lit
no night
24
83% lit
no night
25
75% lit
no night
26
67% lit
no night
27
58% lit
no night
28
48% lit
no night
29
38% lit
no night
30
29% lit
no night
31
20% lit
no night

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 Mays

Tarko-Sale needs Kp 5 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 97 of the 930 May days from 1996 to 2025 (10%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, 6th of 12 months; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%. Tarko-Sale sits at 56.6 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.

May across Russia

Tarko-Sale ranks 8th in Russia for civil night on May 15, behind Velikiy Novgorod at 5.0 hours. Coming from April (6.6 hours at Tarko-Sale), May loses darkness, and June holds about the same.

Civil night on May 15 and May cloud, month-page towns in Russia
Town	Civil night	Cloud
Velikiy Novgorod	5.0 h	61%
Saint Petersburg	4.5 h	63%
Kolpino	4.5 h	63%
Syktyvkar	3.6 h	66%
Petrozavodsk	3.5 h	73%
Noyabrsk	2.5 h	74%
Ukhta	2.1 h	68%
Tarko-Sale	0.0 h	75%
Arkhangel'sk	0.0 h	70%
Murmansk	0.0 h	81%
Severodvinsk	0.0 h	71%
Norilsk	0.0 h	68%

Darkness and moon, every night

Tarko-Sale, May 2027: each night from local noon to the next noon
Night	Civil	Moon-free dark	Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM	Moon lit
Sat May 1	4 h 9 min	4 h 9 min	3 h 50 min	23%
Sun May 2	3 h 58 min	3 h 58 min	3 h 44 min	15%
Mon May 3	3 h 46 min	3 h 46 min	3 h 39 min	9%
Tue May 4	3 h 35 min	3 h 35 min	3 h 33 min	4%
Wed May 5	3 h 22 min	3 h 22 min	3 h 22 min	1%
Thu May 6	3 h 9 min	3 h 9 min	3 h 9 min	0%
Fri May 7	2 h 55 min	0 min	0 min	3%
Sat May 8	2 h 40 min	0 min	0 min	7%
Sun May 9	2 h 24 min	0 min	0 min	15%
Mon May 10	2 h 7 min	0 min	0 min	24%
Tue May 11	1 h 47 min	0 min	0 min	34%
Wed May 12	1 h 23 min	0 min	0 min	46%
Thu May 13	49 min	0 min	0 min	57%
Fri May 14	0 min	0 min	0 min	68%
Sat May 15	0 min	0 min	0 min	77%
Sun May 16	0 min	0 min	0 min	86%
Mon May 17	0 min	0 min	0 min	92%
Tue May 18	0 min	0 min	0 min	97%
Wed May 19	0 min	0 min	0 min	99%
Thu May 20	0 min	0 min	0 min	100%
Fri May 21	0 min	0 min	0 min	98%
Sat May 22	0 min	0 min	0 min	95%
Sun May 23	0 min	0 min	0 min	90%
Mon May 24	0 min	0 min	0 min	83%
Tue May 25	0 min	0 min	0 min	75%
Wed May 26	0 min	0 min	0 min	67%
Thu May 27	0 min	0 min	0 min	58%
Fri May 28	0 min	0 min	0 min	48%
Sat May 29	0 min	0 min	0 min	38%
Sun May 30	0 min	0 min	0 min	29%
Mon May 31	0 min	0 min	0 min	20%

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

Questions

Can you see the northern lights in Tarko-Sale in May?: On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 13 of 31 nights at Tarko-Sale have civil darkness, and 10% of past May days reached Kp 5.
How dark is Tarko-Sale in May?: Tarko-Sale averages 1.2 hours of civil night a night in May 2027, from 4 h 9 min on the 1st to 0 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Tarko-Sale in May?: NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Tarko-Sale's 1 degree cell 75% mean cloud in May, against 70% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in May 2027 for aurora in Tarko-Sale?: By darkness and moon alone, May 1, with 3 h 50 min of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Tarko-Sale. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is May or June better in Tarko-Sale?: By civil night times the clear share, May scores 0.0 hours at Tarko-Sale and June 0.0. They are level.

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.