Aurora Borealis in Bishops Stortford
United Kingdom · 51.87°, 0.16° · geomagnetic 53.7° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Bishops Stortford
4%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Bishops Stortford 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 Bishops Stortford
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 4%. Not one of the seven reaches the Kp 7 that Bishops Stortford 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 Bishops Stortford
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Bishops Stortford
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, Bishops Stortford 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 | 5.8 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.6 | 7.6 | 9.8 | 11.3 | 12.0 |
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 Bishops Stortford horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
The sky over Bishops Stortford reads Bortle 7. Getting clear of the built-up area makes a visible difference on a marginal night.
- 27 km east-north-east — around Braintree → Bortle 5
- 71 km south-east → 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 Bishops Stortford. 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 Bishops Stortford 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, 684 km north-north-west in United Kingdom.
| Bishops Stortford | Inverness | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 5 |
| Nights per year | 2.7 | 28.7 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 53.7° | 59.8° |
Confirmed reports from this area
55 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Bishops Stortford 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 Bishops Stortford
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 Bishops Stortford.
- Chrishall Common — hill15.5 km north-north-west
- Duck Island — island16.8 km north-north-east
- Great Chishill — hill18.2 km north-north-west
- Riddy Island — island31.6 km north
- Harlow Town Park — park11.1 km south-south-west
- Cheshunt Lake — lake22.1 km south-south-west
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. Bishops Stortford keeps its fortified past above ground, at Waytemore Castle, Little Hadham and Stansted Mountfitchet Castle.
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 Bishops Stortford will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Pearse House 1.8 km from the centre
- Stansted Manor 2.4 km from the centre
- Tford M11 2.4 km from the centre
- Days Inn London Stansted Airport 2.4 km from the centre
- Days Inn Bishops Stortford M11 2.5 km from the centre
- Ramada London Stansted Airport 2.5 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 Bishops Stortford 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 Bishops Stortford forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Bishops Stortford
Can you see the aurora borealis from Bishops Stortford?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Bishops Stortford 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 Bishops Stortford?
Kp 7. Bishops Stortford sits at geomagnetic latitude 53.7°, 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 Bishops Stortford?
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 Bishops Stortford never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Bishops Stortford?
The centre of Bishops Stortford reads Bortle 7. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 71 km south-east. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Bishops Stortford with reliable aurora borealis?
Inverness, United Kingdom — 684 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 5 and averages 28.7 viable nights a year against 2.7 in Bishops Stortford.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Bishops Stortford.