Aurora Borealis in Aberystwyth
United Kingdom · 52.42°, -4.08° · geomagnetic 54.9° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Aberystwyth
7%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Aberystwyth needs Kp 7 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 5.7. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Aberystwyth
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 7%. Not one of the seven reaches the Kp 7 that Aberystwyth needs, which is normal rather than unlucky — it averages 2.7 viable nights a year. The 23 nights past the seven-day window move with the 27-day solar rotation and are updated daily in the app.
Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app
See all 30 nights for Aberystwyth
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Aberystwyth
2.7 nights a year, averaged across 10.0 years of records
| Storm level | Nights / year |
|---|---|
| Kp 4 | 83.4 |
| Kp 5 | 28.7 |
| Kp 6 | 9.3 |
| Kp 7 | 3.2 |
| Kp 8 | 1.2 |
NOAA planetary Kp, 2016-04-02 to 2026-03-30
Wait for an alert; do not book a week
At Kp 7, Aberystwyth needs a severe geomagnetic storm before anything shows above the northern horizon. Storms that size arrive a handful of times per solar cycle and announce themselves a day or two ahead. Watching for one beats picking dates and hoping.
Hours of true darkness, month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.7 | 10.3 | 8.5 | 5.7 | 1.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.4 | 7.5 | 9.7 | 11.4 | 12.1 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Nothing to see from June to July
Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Aberystwyth horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
Aberystwyth is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 3. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.
- 11 km north-north-east — around Ceredigion → Bortle 3
- 11 km north-north-east — around Ceredigion → Bortle 3
Falchi 2016 World Atlas (DOI: 10.5880/GFZ.1.4.2016.001)
The months that actually deliver
Counting only nights that were both stormy enough and dark enough, September, August and November came out ahead in Aberystwyth. That is storm season and darkness overlapping — the equinoxes tend to be geomagnetically active, and the nights are already long by then.
Darkest nights of the coming year
A bright moon washes out a weak display as effectively as street lighting. These new moons fall inside the Aberystwyth viewing season.
- 13 Aug 2026
- 11 Sep 2026
- 11 Oct 2026
- 09 Nov 2026
- 09 Dec 2026
- 07 Jan 2027
- 06 Feb 2027
Where it is close to a certainty
If you would rather plan a trip than wait for a storm, the nearest place with genuinely frequent aurora is Inverness, 563 km north in United Kingdom.
| Aberystwyth | Inverness | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 5 |
| Nights per year | 2.7 | 28.7 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 54.9° | 59.8° |
Confirmed reports from this area
129 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Aberystwyth between 2015-01-01 and 2016-12-31. Rare is not the same as impossible.
Aurorasaurus verified positive reports
Where the horizon opens up near Aberystwyth
The display sits low on the northern horizon, so what beats a better forecast is open ground facing that way. Height gets you above the town glow; water gives you an unbroken skyline. These are within a short drive of Aberystwyth.
- Cribin Llwyd — hill3.4 km north-north-east
- Moelcerni — hill4.7 km north-north-east
- Craig yr Wylfa — headland7.6 km north
- Moel y Llyn — mountain16.2 km north-east
- Pen Bwch Point — headland20.8 km north
- Tarren y Gesail — mountain27.2 km north-north-east
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
What to do with the daylight
Aurora watching is a night job, and in winter that leaves a short, bright day to fill. Aberystwyth keeps its fortified past above ground, at Castell Gwallter, Castell Gwarcwm and Domen Las.
Keep the daylight loose: the sky decides the evening, and the forecast can turn within a few hours.
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Anywhere on the outskirts of Aberystwyth will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Y Gelli 0.1 km from the centre
- Harry'S Hotel & Restaurant 0.1 km from the centre
- The Glengower 0.6 km from the centre
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) — confirm before booking
The last nights it was visible here
Nights in the last decade when the storm was strong enough for Aberystwyth and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-20 | Kp 7.0 |
| 2026-01-20 | Kp 7.67 |
| 2026-01-19 | Kp 8.67 |
| 2025-11-12 | Kp 7.33 |
| 2025-11-11 | Kp 8.67 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Aberystwyth forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Aberystwyth
Can you see the aurora borealis from Aberystwyth?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Aberystwyth had about 2.7 nights a year when the storm was strong enough and the sky dark enough at the same time.
What Kp index do you need to see the aurora borealis in Aberystwyth?
Kp 7. Aberystwyth sits at geomagnetic latitude 54.9°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 7. Storms that size occur about 3.2 nights a year.
When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Aberystwyth?
September, August and November. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From June to July the sky over Aberystwyth never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Aberystwyth?
The centre of Aberystwyth reads Bortle 3. The nearest sky at Bortle 3 is about 11 km north-north-east around Ceredigion. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Aberystwyth with reliable aurora borealis?
Inverness, United Kingdom — 563 km north. It needs only Kp 5 and averages 28.7 viable nights a year against 2.7 in Aberystwyth.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Aberystwyth.