Northern lights in Abisko in August

Sweden. Figures for August 2027, calculated by us. Times are local.

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No: it never gets dark enough. In mid-August the Sun never gets more than 12° below the horizon, so the sky stays too bright to see the aurora, however active it is.

Darkness through the month

1 August: no real darkness.
15 August: no real darkness.
End of August: 1.8 hours. The nights are getting longer through the month.

“Dark” here means the Sun is more than 12° below the horizon. Faint aurora needs a darker sky; a strong display can show earlier in the evening.

The Moon in August 2027

New Moon: 2 August 2027. The week around it has the darkest skies.
Full Moon: 17 August 2027. A bright Moon makes the aurora look fainter, though it is still there.
New Moon: 31 August 2027. The week around it has the darkest skies.

What to expect

Come back between September and March, when there is real darkness.
There is very little artificial light, and the national park is right next to the village.

Green northern lights rising behind birch trees in a snowy clearing — The northern lights at Abisko, Sweden. Photo: Andrea Ullius from Chur, Schweiz, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Get a note when it is worth going out

A short email before an eclipse, a strong meteor shower or a dark week worth planning for. No more than a few a month.

Abisko: the whole year. All northern lights destinations.

Sources

Darkness, sunrise and Moon phases: our calculation, Astronomy Engine 2.1.19 (MIT licence). How we worked it out.
NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center, Tips on viewing the aurora.