Arkhangelskaya, Russia
Northern lights in Vel'sk
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/Moscow
Storm level needed
Vel'sk sits at 61.07N 42.10E in Arkhangelskaya, Russia. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Vel'sk at 56.2 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 4.8 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Vel'sk sits at 56.2 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 Nyandoma (121 km), Mirnyy (210 km), Velikiy Ustyug (230 km). Nyandoma sits 0.8 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 4 to July 7 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 34 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 28 to May 14 across New Year, 291 days in 2026. Vel'sk's longest night of the year, Dec 18, has 16 h 16 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Vel'sk, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:07 on local clocks on December 15 and 00:12 on June 15. That is 7 min after midnight in December and 12 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Vel'sk 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 | 15.5 h | 11.9 h | 79% | 3.3 h | |
| Feb | 13.2 h | 9.9 h | 75% | 3.3 hbest | |
| Mar | 10.7 h | 7.1 h | 74% | 2.8 h | |
| Apr | 7.5 h | 1.3 h | 69% | 2.3 h | |
| May | 3.9 h | 0.0 h | 65% | 1.4 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 68% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 2.2 h | 0.0 h | 64% | 0.8 h | |
| Aug | 6.2 h | 0.0 h | 67% | 2.0 h | |
| Sep | 9.5 h | 5.6 h | 75% | 2.4 h | |
| Oct | 12.3 h | 9.0 h | 89% | 1.4 h | |
| Nov | 14.8 h | 11.4 h | 91% | 1.3 h | |
| Dec | 16.2 h | 12.5 h | 85% | 2.4 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Vel'sk with 16.2 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Vel'sk gets 3,393 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Vel'sk, 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 Vel'sk at 75% across the year, from 64% in July to 91% in November. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Vel'sk averages 78%, against a median of 77% for Glow towns in Russia.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives February the best score, 3.3 hours, ahead of January at 3.3. Vel'sk's equinox months score 2.8 in March and 2.4 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 Vel'sk, on 10% of days. At Vel'sk'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/Moscow dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Vel'sk have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 7 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Vel'sk has 11 h 8 min of civil night, 7 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
5.6 h
- 6
16% lit
7.4 h
- 7
9% lit
9.1 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
12.2 h
- 15
25% lit
12.3 h
- 16
33% lit
12.4 h
- 17
43% lit
11.2 h
- 18
52% lit
9.6 h
- 19
62% lit
8.0 h
- 20
71% lit
6.4 h
- 21
79% lit
4.9 h
- 22
87% lit
3.4 h
- 23
93% lit
1.9 h
- 24
98% lit
0.3 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
82% lit
0.0 h
- 30
72% lit
0.8 h
- 31
61% lit
2.6 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 9 Glow towns in Arkhangelskaya, Vel'sk ranks 7th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 58.1 degrees; Severodvinsk sits highest at 59.9. Among the 77 Glow towns in Russia, Vel'sk ranks 61st by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.3 degrees; Nikel sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Vel'sk gets 16.2 hours of civil night, 51st longest of 77 in Russia, where the median is 16.7.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Vel'sk?
- Vel'sk sits at 56.2 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 Vel'sk still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Vel'sk?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from Jun 4 to Jul 7. Tonight has 11 h 8 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Vel'sk?
- February, by civil night at Vel'sk times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Vel'sk in the dark months?
- About 78% mean cloud amount over Vel'sk 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 Vel'sk?
- 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
Vel'sk by month
Region and comparisons