Read first: safe aurora hunting
About this spot
| Getting there | 4 km from Harstad, about 10 min by carThe drive time is an estimate. Allow more time in bad weather, and check the road conditions before you go. |
|---|---|
| Without a car | by bus, leave by about 23:00You can get there and back in the evening, with at least an hour at the spot. Leave the spot by this time for the last bus back. |
| Sky | some town lightHow much artificial light brightens the northern sky at the map point. |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 66.5° |
| Map point | 68.8219, 16.5629 |
Bus times are planned times from Entur and change. Check entur.no before you go.
Do you live nearby? Tell us if this spot causes trouble.
Aurora season
In Harstad the nights are dark enough for aurora from about 29 August to 12 April.
Dark hours month by month, polar night and how often it is clear around Harstad
How we check this
The score and the sky are for the map point. We rate the northern sky because faint aurora usually appears there. We measure the light from satellite images of night lights, and the score accounts for it. In a town or at an airport we always rate the sky as some town light.
We checked Entur's winter timetables for a weekday and a Saturday on 14 October 2026.
We work out drive times on OpenStreetMap's roads at about 80% of the speed limit, a careful winter pace, and round them up to 5 minutes.
We work out the aurora season dates for Harstad and use them for all our spots around Harstad.
Nearest road cameras
Statens vegvesen's road cameras update every 5 minutes. Check the sky and the road before you set off.
Other spots nearby (straight-line distance)
- Harstad centre · 3 km · some town light
- Nupen · 14 km · very dark
- Borkenes (Kvæfjord) · 17 km · dark
- Forfjord · 35 km · very dark