Can you see the northern lights in Zapolyarnyy in September?

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

How dark is Zapolyarnyy in September?

Zapolyarnyy averages 8.4 hours of civil night a night in September 2027, from 6 h 2 min on the 1st to 10 h 35 min on the last night.

How cloudy is Zapolyarnyy in September?

NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Zapolyarnyy's 1 degree cell 81% mean cloud in September, against 82% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.

What is the best night in September 2027 for aurora in Zapolyarnyy?

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

Is September or October better in Zapolyarnyy?

By civil night times the clear share, September scores 1.6 hours at Zapolyarnyy and October 1.7. October comes out ahead.

Zapolyarnyy · September 2027

Northern lights in Zapolyarnyy in September 2027

Answer

September gives Zapolyarnyy 8.4 hours of civil night on the 15th, the 7th darkest of its 12 months, under 81% mean cloud. 14% of September days since 1996 reached storm level, Kp 5.

8.4 h

civil night, average night

SunCalc for 69.43, 30.81; NASA POWER; GFZ Kp

September against the rest of the year

3.4

2.8

2.0

1.0

0.0

0.3

1.6

1.7

2.5

2.7

September cloud at Zapolyarnyy averages 81% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, close to its yearly mean of 82%. July is Zapolyarnyy's clearest month at 76%. By civil night times clear sky, September scores 1.6 hours at Zapolyarnyy, 7th of 12. Nikel, 23 km away, averages the same 81%.

Civil night at Zapolyarnyy starts September at 6 h 2 min and reaches 10 h 35 min by September 30 as the nights lengthen by 4.5 hours. SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on every night. The sun never reaches 18 degrees down, so Zapolyarnyy gets no astronomical night in September.

September night by night

Full moon comes first, on Sep 16, then the new moon on Sep 30, in Europe/Moscow dates. Zapolyarnyy gets 129 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
6.0 h
2
7% lit
6.2 h
3
13% lit
6.4 h
4
22% lit
6.6 h
5
31% lit
6.8 h
6
41% lit
6.9 h
7
51% lit
7.1 h
8
61% lit
7.3 h
9
70% lit
7.4 h
10
78% lit
7.6 h
11
85% lit
7.8 h
12
91% lit
3.4 h
13
96% lit
1.4 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
0.0 h
23
45% lit
0.0 h
24
34% lit
0.0 h
25
23% lit
2.6 h
26
14% lit
5.7 h
27
7% lit
8.1 h
28
2% lit
10.3 h
29
0% lit
10.4 h
30
1% lit
10.6 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

Quiet activity already puts the oval edge over Zapolyarnyy, so storm days matter more: 126 of the 900 September days from 1996 to 2025 (14%) reached Kp 5, one of the three most active months for that level. Zapolyarnyy sits at 65.6 degrees geomagnetic, inside SWPC's 60 to 75 degree band, where aurora can be seen on more than half of all nights. No storm is needed: by SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 1.

September across Russia

Zapolyarnyy ranks 23rd in Russia for civil night on September 15, behind Velikiy Novgorod at 9.7 hours. Coming from August (1.3 hours at Zapolyarnyy), September adds darkness, and the nights keep growing into October (12.7 hours on the 15th). The September equinox falls on September 23, 08:56 Zapolyarnyy 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%
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%
Vorkuta	8.8 h	80%
Zapolyarnyy	8.4 h	81%

Darkness and moon, every night

Zapolyarnyy, 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	6 h 2 min	0 min	6 h 2 min	4 h	2%
Thu Sep 2	6 h 13 min	0 min	6 h 13 min	4 h	7%
Fri Sep 3	6 h 24 min	0 min	6 h 24 min	4 h	13%
Sat Sep 4	6 h 35 min	0 min	6 h 35 min	4 h	22%
Sun Sep 5	6 h 46 min	0 min	6 h 46 min	4 h	31%
Mon Sep 6	6 h 56 min	0 min	6 h 56 min	4 h	41%
Tue Sep 7	7 h 6 min	0 min	7 h 6 min	4 h	51%
Wed Sep 8	7 h 16 min	0 min	7 h 16 min	4 h	61%
Thu Sep 9	7 h 26 min	0 min	7 h 26 min	4 h	70%
Fri Sep 10	7 h 36 min	0 min	7 h 36 min	4 h	78%
Sat Sep 11	7 h 46 min	0 min	7 h 46 min	4 h	85%
Sun Sep 12	7 h 56 min	0 min	3 h 23 min	31 min	91%
Mon Sep 13	8 h 5 min	0 min	1 h 26 min	0 min	96%
Tue Sep 14	8 h 15 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	99%
Wed Sep 15	8 h 24 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	100%
Thu Sep 16	8 h 33 min	0 min	0 min	0 min	99%
Fri Sep 17	8 h 42 min	19 min	0 min	0 min	96%
Sat Sep 18	8 h 51 min	1 h 30 min	0 min	0 min	91%
Sun Sep 19	9 h	2 h 5 min	0 min	0 min	85%
Mon Sep 20	9 h 9 min	2 h 33 min	0 min	0 min	77%
Tue Sep 21	9 h 18 min	2 h 57 min	0 min	0 min	67%
Wed Sep 22	9 h 27 min	3 h 18 min	0 min	0 min	56%
Thu Sep 23	9 h 36 min	3 h 37 min	0 min	0 min	45%
Fri Sep 24	9 h 44 min	3 h 54 min	0 min	0 min	34%
Sat Sep 25	9 h 53 min	4 h 11 min	2 h 35 min	28 min	23%
Sun Sep 26	10 h 2 min	4 h 26 min	5 h 39 min	3 h 27 min	14%
Mon Sep 27	10 h 10 min	4 h 41 min	8 h 5 min	4 h	7%
Tue Sep 28	10 h 19 min	4 h 55 min	10 h 19 min	4 h	2%
Wed Sep 29	10 h 27 min	5 h 8 min	10 h 27 min	4 h	0%
Thu Sep 30	10 h 35 min	5 h 21 min	10 h 35 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 Zapolyarnyy in September?: On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 30 of 30 nights at Zapolyarnyy have civil darkness, and 14% of past September days reached Kp 5.
How dark is Zapolyarnyy in September?: Zapolyarnyy averages 8.4 hours of civil night a night in September 2027, from 6 h 2 min on the 1st to 10 h 35 min on the last night.
How cloudy is Zapolyarnyy in September?: NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Zapolyarnyy's 1 degree cell 81% mean cloud in September, against 82% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
What is the best night in September 2027 for aurora in Zapolyarnyy?: By darkness and moon alone, Sep 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Zapolyarnyy. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
Is September or October better in Zapolyarnyy?: By civil night times the clear share, September scores 1.6 hours at Zapolyarnyy and October 1.7. October 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.