Sakha, Russia
Northern lights in Udachny
Answer
Tonight
Darkness window open
Civil darkness has begun.
Observed 11:55 UTC, forecast 13:26 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Asia/Yakutsk
Storm level needed
Udachny sits at 66.43N 112.40E in Sakha, Russia. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Udachny at 57.2 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 9.2 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Udachny sits at 57.2 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 Aykhal (69 km), Talnakh (1,050 km), Norilsk (1,055 km). Aykhal sits 0.5 degrees lower 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 May 8 to August 4 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 89 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 August 15 to April 27 across New Year, 256 days in 2026. Udachny's longest night of the year, Dec 20, has 17 h 47 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Udachny, when the sun is lowest, falls at 01:25 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:31 on June 15. That is 1 h 25 min after midnight in December and 1 h 31 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Udachny the darkest hour sits late in SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 16.7 h | 12.3 h | 42% | 9.7 h | |
| Feb | 13.7 h | 9.7 h | 40% | 8.2 h | |
| Mar | 10.4 h | 5.9 h | 46% | 5.6 h | |
| Apr | 6.2 h | 0.0 h | 63% | 2.3 h | |
| May | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 73% | 0.0 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 67% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 65% | 0.0 h | |
| Aug | 4.1 h | 0.0 h | 71% | 1.2 h | |
| Sep | 8.9 h | 3.3 h | 76% | 2.1 h | |
| Oct | 12.5 h | 8.4 h | 83% | 2.1 h | |
| Nov | 15.8 h | 11.5 h | 57% | 6.8 h | |
| Dec | 17.7 h | 12.9 h | 41% | 10.4 hbest |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Udachny with 17.7 hours of civil night and May the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Udachny gets 3,210 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Udachny, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.9 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Udachny at 60% across the year, from 40% in February to 83% in October. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Udachny averages 58%, against a median of 77% for Glow towns in Russia.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives December the best score, 10.4 hours, ahead of January at 9.7. Udachny's equinox months score 5.6 in March and 2.1 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 Udachny, on 10% of days. At Udachny'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 11 and the full moon on Oct 26, in Asia/Yakutsk dates. 14 of the 30 nights at Udachny have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Udachny has 10 h 59 min of civil night, 0 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
61% lit
0.0 h
- 3
49% lit
0.0 h
- 4
38% lit
0.0 h
- 5
27% lit
4.2 h
- 6
18% lit
6.5 h
- 7
10% lit
8.5 h
- 8
5% lit
10.4 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.9 h
- 11
1% lit
12.0 h
- 12
4% lit
12.2 h
- 13
9% lit
12.3 h
- 14
15% lit
12.4 h
- 15
23% lit
12.5 h
- 16
31% lit
12.6 h
- 17
40% lit
12.7 h
- 18
50% lit
12.8 h
- 19
59% lit
9.7 h
- 20
69% lit
7.6 h
- 21
77% lit
5.8 h
- 22
85% lit
4.1 h
- 23
92% lit
2.3 h
- 24
97% lit
0.5 h
- 25
99% lit
0.0 h
- 26
100% lit
0.0 h
- 27
97% lit
0.0 h
- 28
92% lit
0.0 h
- 29
84% lit
0.0 h
- 30
75% lit
0.0 h
- 31
64% lit
0.0 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 2 Glow towns in Sakha, Udachny ranks 1st by dipole latitude against a regional median of 57.0 degrees, the highest of them. Among the 77 Glow towns in Russia, Udachny ranks 40th by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.3 degrees; Nikel sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Udachny gets 17.7 hours of civil night, 20th longest of 77 in Russia, where the median is 16.7.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Udachny?
- Udachny sits at 57.2 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 Udachny still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Udachny?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from May 8 to Aug 4. Tonight has 10 h 59 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Udachny?
- December, by civil night at Udachny times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Udachny in the dark months?
- About 58% mean cloud amount over Udachny 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 Udachny?
- 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
Udachny by month
Region and comparisons