Lake Tekapo (Aoraki Mackenzie) vs Lofoten Islands
Two places, side by side, in the same language every spot page uses: the Kp each needs, tonight's live verdict, twelve months of real cloud cover, the season, and how often the sky has reached each threshold this past year.
Lake Tekapo (Aoraki Mackenzie) is clearer in 7 of 7 dark months; Lofoten Islands needs a smaller storm — Kp 1+ against Kp 5+.
Clearest dark months: Feb, Apr, Sep.
Clearest dark months: Mar, Sep, Oct.
Clear sky = 100 − mean cloud cover; outlined months are each place's three clearest dark months; faint months have no night with an hour of astronomical darkness. ERA5 reanalysis, 2015–2024 monthly mean — climatology, not a forecast; a regional ~25 km grid, local microclimates are not captured. Darkness & moon calendar → Best month, all spots →
Kp is a global index — the thresholds are each spot's own, from its geomagnetic latitude; a book spot borrows its parent watch point's geomagnetic fields and climatology row. Tonight's verdict is NOAA Kp + Open-Meteo cloud + the moon, the same call every spot page makes. Best month, all spots → Plan the trip →