Aurora Borealis in Ashton in Makerfield
United Kingdom · 53.48°, -2.65° · geomagnetic 55.7° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Ashton in Makerfield
16%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Ashton in Makerfield 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 Ashton in Makerfield
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 16%. Not one of the seven reaches the Kp 7 that Ashton in Makerfield 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 Ashton in Makerfield
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Ashton in Makerfield
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, Ashton in Makerfield 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 | 8.4 | 5.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.1 | 7.4 | 9.7 | 11.4 | 12.1 |
Solar declination and hour angle at −18°
Nothing to see from May to July
Through those months the sun never falls more than 18° below the Ashton in Makerfield horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
Ashton in Makerfield is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 7. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.
- 56 km west → Bortle 5
- 58 km north — around Ribble Valley → Bortle 4
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 Ashton in Makerfield. 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 Ashton in Makerfield 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, 455 km north-north-west in United Kingdom.
| Ashton in Makerfield | Inverness | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 5 |
| Nights per year | 2.7 | 28.7 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 55.7° | 59.8° |
Confirmed reports from this area
226 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Ashton in Makerfield 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 Ashton in Makerfield
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 Ashton in Makerfield.
- Billinge Hill — hill5.2 km west-north-west
- Crank Hill — hill6.2 km west
- Firs Park — park7.8 km east-north-east
- Pennington Hall Park — park8.3 km east
- Goose Island — island14.5 km north-west
- The Island — island20.9 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. Ashton in Makerfield keeps its fortified past above ground, at Blackrod Castle Croft, Halton Castle and Winter Hill transmitting station.
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 Ashton in Makerfield will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Mercure Wigan Oak 6.9 km from the centre
- Quality Wigan 7.3 km from the centre
- Park Inn by Radisson Leigh 7.8 km from the centre
- Holiday Inn Express Leigh Sports Village 7.9 km from the centre
- Best Western Lancashire Manor Hotel 8.1 km from the centre
- Bw Lancashire Manor Hotel 8.2 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 Ashton in Makerfield 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 Ashton in Makerfield forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Ashton in Makerfield
Can you see the aurora borealis from Ashton in Makerfield?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Ashton in Makerfield 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 Ashton in Makerfield?
Kp 7. Ashton in Makerfield sits at geomagnetic latitude 55.7°, 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 Ashton in Makerfield?
September, August and November. Those months scored highest once both conditions are counted together: geomagnetic activity and enough hours of real darkness. From May to July the sky over Ashton in Makerfield never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Ashton in Makerfield?
The centre of Ashton in Makerfield reads Bortle 7. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 58 km north around Ribble Valley. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Ashton in Makerfield with reliable aurora borealis?
Inverness, United Kingdom — 455 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 5 and averages 28.7 viable nights a year against 2.7 in Ashton in Makerfield.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Ashton in Makerfield.