Kirkjufell sunset and sunrise forecast
Next sunrise: today at 09:04, flat and grey (2/100); the sun clears the hills at 10:30. Aurora: no promising night in the forecast this week. Times are Iceland time (UTC).
- Sunrise
- 09:04 · ESE
- Sunset
- 17:28 · WSW
- Sun on the land
- 10:30–14:10
- Golden hour tonight
- 16:04–18:01
- Aurora tonight
- Clouded out
Updated 04:11Kirkjufell: the weather now
The light, day by day
For photographers in Kirkjufell: which sunrises and sunsets should colour, when the sun drops behind the hills, and the nights the aurora could show.
- Yesterday26 Oct
- Today27 Oct
- Tomorrow28 Oct
- Thu29 Oct
- Fri30 Oct
- Sat31 Oct
- Sun1 Nov
- Mon2 Nov
An illustration of the forecast: the cloud is the hourly forecast, eased between the hours; the sun, moon and stars are where they will be. Seen from Kirkjufellsfoss, where it's usually photographed. Skyline from Iceland's 10 m elevation model (ÍslandsDEM) nearby and coarser terrain beyond; trees and small buildings left out.
Clouded out
- Dark
- 19:22–07:13
- Activity
- Kp 0.7NOAA forecast
- Cloud
- 100%
A bright moon washes out a faint aurora but lights the landscape.
Cloud by layer from DMI's HARMONIE and ECMWF (via Open-Meteo), read toward the sun out to 300 km; skyline from ÍslandsDEM (Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands, CC BY 4.0) and AWS Terrain Tiles; aurora activity from NOAA. The colour score is our own estimate, and skies like to surprise.
The sun at Kirkjufell through the year
On the 15th of each month: when and where the sun rises and sets, when it's really on the land (from the skyline here), how long the golden light lasts, and the hours dark enough for the aurora.
| Month | Sunrise | Sunset | Sun on the land | Golden hour, a day | Dark for aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 11:10 SE 145° | 16:15 SW 215° | Behind the hills | 6 h 38 min | 14 h 20 min |
| February | 09:32 ESE 119° | 18:03 WSW 242° | 10:58–14:41 | 3 h 51 min | 11 h 47 min |
| March | 07:52 E 93° | 19:33 W 267° | 08:43–16:20 | 3 h 11 min | 8 h 42 min |
| April | 05:58 ENE 65° | 21:10 WNW 296° | 06:17–17:27 | 3 h 25 min | 3 h 55 min |
| May | 04:09 NE 38° | 22:52 NW 323° | 04:40–22:09 | 4 h 56 min | Too light |
| June | 02:40 NNE 15° | 00:28 NNW 345° | 03:49–23:02 | 6 h 34 min | Too light |
| July | 03:32 NNE 26° | 23:43 NNW 333° | 04:12–22:46 | 7 h 20 min | Too light |
| August | 05:18 NE 53° | 21:54 NW 307° | 05:53–21:11 | 3 h 47 min | Too light |
| September | 06:54 E 81° | 20:00 W 279° | 07:38–16:25 | 3 h 11 min | 7 h 5 min |
| October | 08:25 ESE 109° | 18:10 WSW 251° | 09:29–15:30 | 3 h 28 min | 10 h 40 min |
| November | 10:09 SE 136° | 16:25 SW 224° | Behind the hills | 6 h | 13 h 32 min |
| December | 11:35 SSE 154° | 15:20 SSW 206° | Behind the hills | 5 h 38 min | 15 h 2 min |
Iceland time (UTC, all year). Directions are where the sun stands at sunrise and sunset, in degrees from north. Sun on the land: from when it clears the hills to when it drops behind them, from Iceland's 10 m elevation model within 3 km (trees and small buildings left out) and coarser terrain beyond. Golden hour: the sun between 6° above and 4° below the horizon. Dark for aurora: the sun more than 12° down.
Questions visitors ask
When is sunset at Kirkjufell today?
Today (27 October) the sun sets at 17:28 in the west-southwest (240°), but it drops behind the hills at 14:10, 3 h 18 min earlier. The evening golden hour runs 16:04–18:01 and blue hour 18:01–18:21. Times are Iceland time (UTC, all year).
When is the best light for photography in Kirkjufell this week?
No sunset this week looks promising; the best of them is Friday: flat and grey (sunset at 17:17, golden hour 15:50–17:51). No sunrise this week looks promising; the best of them is Friday: flat and grey (sunrise at 09:14, golden hour 08:40–10:42). Cloud forecasts more than three days out are rough, so check again the day before. Based on cloud by layer from DMI's HARMONIE and ECMWF and NOAA's aurora forecast as of 27 October 2026; times are Iceland time (UTC).
Can I see the northern lights at Kirkjufell tonight?
Clouded out tonight (26 October), Kp 1. It's dark 19:22–07:13, with 100% cloud on average over those hours, and the moon is 99% lit. Aurora forecasts change by the hour, so check again in the evening.
Which direction does the sun set at Kirkjufell?
It swings with the seasons. Around the June solstice the sun sets in the north-northwest (346°) at about 00:33 (just after midnight); at the equinoxes almost due west (267° in mid-March); in December in the south-southwest (205°) at 15:20. Sunrise swings the same way, from the north-northeast (14°) in June to the south-southeast (155°) in December. Times are Iceland time.
Does the sun go behind the mountains at Kirkjufell in winter?
Yes. From about 3 November to 7 February the sun doesn't clear the mountains here at all, even at noon (in December it climbs only 1.6°, under a 11.3° skyline to the south), so there's no direct sunlight, though the sky still colours at sunrise and sunset. It's back around 8 February. Worked out from Iceland's 10 m elevation model around where the spot is photographed; trees and small buildings are left out.
When is the best time of year to photograph Kirkjufell?
It depends on the light you're after. For the aurora, the nights are dark enough from about 18 August to 23 April, and in December 15 h 2 min a day are dark enough. Golden light lasts longest in midwinter (about 6 h 38 min a day in January) and around midsummer, when sunset runs into sunrise (about 6 h 34 min in June). Around the equinoxes it's about 3 h 11 min a day, morning and evening together. Note that from 3 November to 7 February the sun doesn't clear the mountains here.
Cloud by layer from DMI's HARMONIE and ECMWF (via Open-Meteo), read toward the sun out to 300 km; skyline from ÍslandsDEM (Náttúrufræðistofnun Íslands, CC BY 4.0) and AWS Terrain Tiles; aurora activity from NOAA. The colour score is our own estimate, and skies like to surprise.