Gallivanting GadaboutData · Guides · Stays
--:-- UTC Book a stay
Photography · Night

Dark nights and the Milky Way: where and when the sky gets fully dark

By Gallivanting GadaboutResearched, not travelledOur calculation; NASA, SIMBAD
TL;DR

On the 15th of the month in 2026, 14 of our 74 weather stations have at least one month when the sun never sinks 18° below the horizon, so the night never gets fully dark; none of them is in Japan. The Milky Way's centre never rises above the horizon at Reykjavik.

When does the night never get fully dark?

The sky is fully dark only after astronomical twilight ends, when the centre of the sun is 18° below the horizon.2 We calculated the sun's lowest point during the night after the 15th of each month of 2026 at each weather station.1 At these stations it stays above 18° below the horizon in at least one month:

Weather stations where the night after the 15th never reaches full darkness in some months of 2026, and the highest altitude of the Milky Way centre
StationMonths without full darkness (15th)Highest altitude of the galactic centre
Reykjavik (Iceland)Apr, May, Jun, Jul and Aug-3.1°
Helsinki (Finland)May, Jun, Jul and Aug0.8°
Oslo (Norway)May, Jun, Jul and Aug1.1°
Tallinn (Estonia)May, Jun, Jul and Aug1.6°
Stockholm (Sweden)May, Jun, Jul and Aug1.7°
Riga (Latvia)May, Jun and Jul4.0°
Dublin (Ireland)May, Jun and Jul7.6°
Berlin (Germany)Jun and Jul8.5°
Amsterdam (Netherlands)Jun and Jul8.7°
Warsaw (Poland)Jun and Jul8.9°
Brussels (Belgium)Jun and Jul10.2°
Prague (Czechia)Jun11.0°
Luxembourg (Luxembourg)Jun11.4°
Paris (France)Jun12.2°

The other 60 stations, including every Japanese one, reach full darkness on the 15th of every month.

How many minutes of full darkness?

Show minutes of full darkness, every station and month
Minutes the sun spends more than 18 degrees below the horizon in the night after the 15th of each month of 2026
StationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Reykjavik (Iceland)73659440000000291534698775
Helsinki (Finland)7226044441610000361552690755
Oslo (Norway)7226044461700000365553690754
Tallinn (Estonia)7206054521900000372555689752
Stockholm (Sweden)7206054521920000373556688751
Riga (Latvia)712608472257000128402564684742
Dublin (Ireland)703612493321000242435573678728
Berlin (Germany)7006124983357800262442575677724
Amsterdam (Netherlands)7006124993378800264444575676724
Warsaw (Poland)70061350034010200268445576676723
Brussels (Belgium)69661450635616000292455578674719
Prague (Czechia)694614510366185084304460580672716
Luxembourg (Luxembourg)6936145123701960108310462580672715
Paris (France)6916145153782160144322468582670712
Vienna (Austria)69061451838423069164330471582670710
Bratislava (Slovakia)69061451838523276166330471583670710
Budapest (Hungary)688615520392246114186339475584668708
Ljubljana (Slovenia)684616526404272170222356483586666704
Zagreb (Croatia)684616526406276177228358484586666702
Belgrade (Serbia)682616530415292204248370489587664700
Bucharest (Romania)681616531418298212254372490587663698
Sapporo (Hokkaido)678616536430319243278386496588660694
Sofia (Bulgaria)676616536432323250286390499589660693
Podgorica (Montenegro)676616537433326254290392500589660692
Rome (Italy)674616539438334266298398502590658690
Aomori (Aomori)672616542444346282312406505590656688
Madrid (Spain)671615542446350288318410508591656686
Ankara (Türkiye)670615544450354295324413510591655685
Akita (Akita)670616545452358299326414510590654684
Morioka (Iwate)670616545452358299326414510590654684
Sendai (Miyagi)666615548460374319344425515591652680
Yamagata (Yamagata)666615548460374319344425515591652680
Niigata (Niigata)666615549462376323348428516592650678
Fukushima (Fukushima)666615550464378325350428516592650678
Toyama (Toyama)662614552468388338360436520592648676
Nagano (Nagano)662614552470388338361436520592648676
Kanazawa (Ishikawa)662614552470388339362436520592648675
Utsunomiya (Tochigi)662614552470390340362436520592648674
Maebashi (Gunma)662614552470390341364438521592648674
Mito (Ibaraki)662614552470390342364438521592648674
Fukui (Fukui)661614553472394345368440522592648674
Saitama (Saitama)660614553474396347369442523592648673
Tokyo (Tokyo)660614554474396349371442523592647672
Kofu (Yamanashi)660614554474396350371442523592646672
Chiba (Chiba)660614554474398350372443524592646672
Tottori (Tottori)660614554476398352373444524593646672
Matsue (Shimane)660614554476398352373444524593646672
Yokohama (Kanagawa)660614554476398352374444524593646672
Gifu (Gifu)660614554476400353374444524593646672
Nagoya (Aichi)659614554476402355376446525593646671
Nicosia (Cyprus)659613554476400355376446526594646671
Kyoto (Kyoto)658614555478402357378446525593646670
Otsu (Shiga)658614555478402357378447526593646670
Shizuoka (Shizuoka)658614555478402357378447526593646670
Tsu (Mie)658614556478404360380448526593646670
Kobe (Hyogo)658614556479404360380448526593646670
Okayama (Okayama)658614556480405360380448526593646670
Osaka (Osaka)658614556480405360380448526593646670
Nara (Nara)658614556480406360380449526593646670
Hiroshima (Hiroshima)658614556480408363383450527593644668
Takamatsu (Kagawa)657614556480408364384451528593644668
Wakayama (Wakayama)657613556482408365384452528593644668
Yamaguchi (Yamaguchi)656613556482410366386452528593644668
Tokushima (Tokushima)656613556482410366386452528593644668
Matsuyama (Ehime)656613557483412369388454529593644668
Fukuoka (Fukuoka)656613558484414371390456530593644666
Kochi (Kochi)656613558484414372390456530593644666
Saga (Saga)654613558486416374394458530593642666
Oita (Oita)654613558486416375394458530593642666
Kumamoto (Kumamoto)654612558488420379397460532594642664
Nagasaki (Nagasaki)654612558488420380398460532594642664
Miyazaki (Miyazaki)652612560492426387404464534594640662
Kagoshima (Kagoshima)650612560494428390408466535594640660
Naha (Okinawa)638608568514462433446492547594630646

How high does the Milky Way's centre rise?

The centre of our galaxy lies at a declination of about 29° south.3 So from a place at latitude L north, it can rise at most 90° − L − 29° above the horizon: low from Europe, and below the horizon altogether from Reykjavik.3

Show the highest altitude for every station
Highest altitude of the galactic centre above a flat horizon, by weather station
StationHighest altitude
Reykjavik (Iceland)-3.1°
Helsinki (Finland)0.8°
Oslo (Norway)1.1°
Tallinn (Estonia)1.6°
Stockholm (Sweden)1.7°
Riga (Latvia)4.0°
Dublin (Ireland)7.6°
Berlin (Germany)8.5°
Amsterdam (Netherlands)8.7°
Warsaw (Poland)8.9°
Brussels (Belgium)10.2°
Prague (Czechia)11.0°
Luxembourg (Luxembourg)11.4°
Paris (France)12.2°
Vienna (Austria)12.7°
Bratislava (Slovakia)12.8°
Budapest (Hungary)13.5°
Ljubljana (Slovenia)14.9°
Zagreb (Croatia)15.2°
Belgrade (Serbia)16.2°
Bucharest (Romania)16.5°
Sapporo (Hokkaido)17.9°
Sofia (Bulgaria)18.3°
Podgorica (Montenegro)18.6°
Rome (Italy)19.2°
Aomori (Aomori)20.2°
Madrid (Spain)20.6°
Ankara (Türkiye)21.0°
Akita (Akita)21.3°
Morioka (Iwate)21.3°
Sendai (Miyagi)22.7°
Yamagata (Yamagata)22.7°
Niigata (Niigata)23.1°
Fukushima (Fukushima)23.2°
Toyama (Toyama)24.3°
Nagano (Nagano)24.3°
Kanazawa (Ishikawa)24.4°
Utsunomiya (Tochigi)24.4°
Maebashi (Gunma)24.6°
Mito (Ibaraki)24.6°
Fukui (Fukui)24.9°
Saitama (Saitama)25.1°
Tokyo (Tokyo)25.3°
Kofu (Yamanashi)25.3°
Chiba (Chiba)25.4°
Tottori (Tottori)25.5°
Matsue (Shimane)25.5°
Yokohama (Kanagawa)25.6°
Gifu (Gifu)25.6°
Nagoya (Aichi)25.8°
Nicosia (Cyprus)25.9°
Kyoto (Kyoto)26.0°
Otsu (Shiga)26.0°
Shizuoka (Shizuoka)26.0°
Tsu (Mie)26.3°
Kobe (Hyogo)26.3°
Okayama (Okayama)26.3°
Osaka (Osaka)26.3°
Nara (Nara)26.3°
Hiroshima (Hiroshima)26.6°
Takamatsu (Kagawa)26.7°
Wakayama (Wakayama)26.8°
Yamaguchi (Yamaguchi)26.8°
Tokushima (Tokushima)26.9°
Matsuyama (Ehime)27.1°
Fukuoka (Fukuoka)27.4°
Kochi (Kochi)27.4°
Saga (Saga)27.7°
Oita (Oita)27.8°
Kumamoto (Kumamoto)28.2°
Nagasaki (Nagasaki)28.3°
Miyazaki (Miyazaki)29.1°
Kagoshima (Kagoshima)29.4°
Naha (Okinawa)34.8°

When are the new moons in 2026 and 2027?

Moonlight washes out faint stars, so the nights around a new moon are the darkest. NASA's table gives the new moons in Universal Time; the local date can be a day later in Japan.4

  • 2026: 18 Jan (19:52 UT), 17 Feb (12:01 UT), 19 Mar (01:23 UT), 17 Apr (11:52 UT), 16 May (20:01 UT), 15 Jun (02:54 UT), 14 Jul (09:43 UT), 12 Aug (17:37 UT), 11 Sep (03:27 UT), 10 Oct (15:50 UT), 9 Nov (07:02 UT), 9 Dec (00:52 UT).4
  • 2027: 7 Jan (20:24 UT), 6 Feb (15:56 UT), 8 Mar (09:29 UT), 6 Apr (23:51 UT), 6 May (10:58 UT), 4 Jun (19:40 UT), 4 Jul (03:02 UT), 2 Aug (10:05 UT), 31 Aug (17:41 UT), 30 Sep (02:36 UT), 29 Oct (13:36 UT), 28 Nov (03:24 UT), 27 Dec (20:12 UT).4

What these figures cannot tell you

  • How dark the sky really is. Town lights matter as much as the sun. We have no light-pollution data we are allowed to publish for Europe.
  • Cloud. See each place's weather table for sunshine and rainy days.
  • Other days. These figures are for the 15th; the light calendar works for any date.

Key takeaways

  • 14 of our 74 stations have months without full darkness on the 15th; none is in Japan.
  • The Milky Way's centre never rises at Reykjavik.
  • New moons give the darkest nights; the dates are on this page.
  • What we would skip: a summer star trip to the far north of Europe. The sky there does not get fully dark in the months shown.

Sources

Sun positions are our calculation with NOAA's equations; twilight definitions from the US Naval Observatory; moon phases from NASA; the galactic centre's position from SIMBAD. See how we research.

  1. Method: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Solar Calculation Details (the NOAA Solar Calculator equations, based on Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms), Read it. Checked 24 September 2026. NOAA notes that the calculator is no longer actively maintained and that calculated times can differ from what is observed. We used the same equations for the daylight figures on our country and prefecture pages. Our calculations; NOAA does not endorse this site.
  2. Twilight definitions: US Naval Observatory, Astronomical Applications Department, Rise, Set, and Twilight Definitions. Read it. Checked 24 September 2026.
  3. Galactic centre: SIMBAD astronomical database, CDS, Strasbourg, object “Sgr A*”: ICRS J2000 declination −29° 00′ 28.17″ (reference 2011AJ....142...35P). Read it. Queried 24 September 2026. The highest altitude is our calculation: 90° minus the station's latitude plus the declination, ignoring refraction.
  4. Moon phases: Fred Espenak, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Phases of the Moon: 2001 to 2100 (Universal Time), based on Jean Meeus, Astronomical Algorithms. Read it. Accessed 24 September 2026. Reproduced with acknowledgement, as the page permits.
  5. Station positions: the weather stations our country and prefecture pages use: WMO 1991–2020 climate normals station list (NOAA NCEI) for Europe, and the Japan Meteorological Agency's station list for Japan.

Our calculation. Minutes and degrees rounded as shown, for the night after the 15th of each month of 2026, at each weather station's position.