Vologda Oblast, Russia
Northern lights in Velikiy Ustyug
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
Velikiy Ustyug sits at 60.76N 46.31E in Vologda Oblast, Russia. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Velikiy Ustyug at 55.4 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 5.3 degrees farther from the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Velikiy Ustyug sits at 55.4 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, 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 Kotlas (58 km), Koryazhma (76 km), Vel'sk (230 km). Kotlas sits 0.4 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 7 to July 4 the sun never reaches -6 degrees, so 28 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 27 to May 15 across New Year, 293 days in 2026. Velikiy Ustyug's longest night of the year, Dec 18, has 16 h 12 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Velikiy Ustyug, when the sun is lowest, falls at 23:50 on local clocks on December 15 and 23:55 on June 15. That is 10 min before midnight in December and 5 min before midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Velikiy Ustyug 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 | 78% | 3.4 h | |
| Feb | 13.2 h | 9.9 h | 73% | 3.6 hbest | |
| Mar | 10.7 h | 7.2 h | 75% | 2.7 h | |
| Apr | 7.5 h | 1.7 h | 68% | 2.4 h | |
| May | 4.1 h | 0.0 h | 64% | 1.5 h | |
| Jun | 0.0 h | 0.0 h | 69% | 0.0 h | |
| Jul | 2.5 h | 0.0 h | 63% | 0.9 h | |
| Aug | 6.3 h | 0.0 h | 67% | 2.1 h | |
| Sep | 9.5 h | 5.7 h | 76% | 2.3 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 Velikiy Ustyug with 16.2 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 0.0. Across the year Velikiy Ustyug gets 3,412 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Velikiy Ustyug, 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 Velikiy Ustyug at 75% across the year, from 63% in July to 91% in November. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Velikiy Ustyug averages 77%, 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, 3.6 hours, ahead of January at 3.4. Velikiy Ustyug's equinox months score 2.7 in March and 2.3 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 6 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Velikiy Ustyug, on 3% of days. At Velikiy Ustyug's level the share runs from 1% in December to 5% in October, 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 6. 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 Velikiy Ustyug have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 7 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Velikiy Ustyug has 11 h 8 min of civil night, 14 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
58% lit
0.2 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
10.7 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.9 h
- 11
2% lit
11.9 h
- 12
5% lit
12.1 h
- 13
10% lit
12.1 h
- 14
17% lit
12.2 h
- 15
25% lit
12.3 h
- 16
33% lit
12.4 h
- 17
43% lit
11.1 h
- 18
52% lit
9.5 h
- 19
62% lit
7.9 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
2.7 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 77 Glow towns in Russia, Velikiy Ustyug ranks 75th by dipole latitude against a national median of 57.3 degrees; Nikel sits highest at 65.7. On December 15 Velikiy Ustyug 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 Velikiy Ustyug?
- Velikiy Ustyug sits at 55.4 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Clear, dark sky over Velikiy Ustyug still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Velikiy Ustyug?
- Civil night, the sun at -6 degrees or lower, is missing from Jun 7 to Jul 4. Tonight has 11 h 8 min of it.
- What is the best month for aurora in Velikiy Ustyug?
- February, by civil night at Velikiy Ustyug times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Velikiy Ustyug in the dark months?
- About 77% mean cloud amount over Velikiy Ustyug 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 Velikiy Ustyug?
- A 3-hour Kp of 6 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 3% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Velikiy Ustyug by month
Region and comparisons