Aurora Borealis in Bonnyrigg

United Kingdom · 55.87°, -3.11° · geomagnetic 58.1° · needs Kp 5

Tonight in Bonnyrigg

37%

Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Bonnyrigg needs Kp 5, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 5.7. That is on the threshold rather than over it, so cloud and moonlight will decide the night.

Tonight Sun 02 Aug
37%
18
20
22
00
02
04
06
Tomorrow Mon 3 Aug
4%
Hour-by-hour for this night is in the app
Tuesday Tue 4 Aug
2%
Hour-by-hour for this night is in the app

Unlock every hour in the app

Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC

The next 30 nights in Bonnyrigg

Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 37%. One of the seven reaches the Kp 5 that Bonnyrigg needs: Sunday 2 Aug, at Kp 5.7. The 23 nights past the seven-day window move with the 27-day solar rotation and are updated daily in the app.

Moderate aurora activity tonight around 4 AM. Similar conditions expected on August 19th.

Sun 2
37%
Kp 5.7
Mon 3
4%
Kp 3.3
Tue 4
2%
Kp 1.8
Wed 5
11%
Kp 3.0
Thu 6
3%
Kp 3.0
Fri 7
3%
Kp 2.0
Sat 8
2%
Kp 2.0

Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app

See all 30 nights for Bonnyrigg

Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook

How often the aurora borealis reaches Bonnyrigg

22.6 nights a year, averaged across 10.0 years of records

Storm levelNights / year
Kp 483.4
Kp 528.7
Kp 69.3
Kp 73.2
Kp 81.2

NOAA planetary Kp, 2016-04-02 to 2026-03-30

Worth watching through the dark half of the year

Kp 5 is a moderate storm — not an everyday event, but common enough that a patient observer in Bonnyrigg sees the aurora borealis most winters.

Hours of true darkness, month by month

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
11.910.38.14.80.00.00.03.07.09.611.512.3

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 Bonnyrigg horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.

Getting clear of the light

Bonnyrigg is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 6. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.

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, March and October came out ahead in Bonnyrigg. 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 Bonnyrigg viewing season.

Where it is close to a certainty

Inverness is close enough to reach and return in a night — 191 km north-north-west — and needs only Kp 5.

BonnyriggInverness
Kp needed55
Nights per year22.6 28.7
Geomagnetic latitude58.1° 59.8°

See the Inverness forecast

Confirmed reports from this area

250 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Bonnyrigg 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 Bonnyrigg

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 Bonnyrigg.

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. Bonnyrigg keeps its fortified past above ground, at Craigmillar Castle, Edinburgh Castle and Leith Fort, and for a day when the cloud sits low, Musée national d'Écosse, Scottish National Gallery and The Scotish Museums Coouncil are indoors and near by.

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 Bonnyrigg will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.

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 Bonnyrigg and the sky was dark enough to show it.

DatePeak
2026-03-24Kp 5.0
2026-03-23Kp 5.0
2026-03-22Kp 6.67
2026-03-21Kp 6.0
2026-03-20Kp 7.0

NOAA planetary Kp

Know when it is worth going outside

Revon watches the Bonnyrigg forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.

Get aurora alerts on iPhone

Common questions about the aurora borealis in Bonnyrigg

Can you see the aurora borealis from Bonnyrigg?

Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Bonnyrigg had about 22.6 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 Bonnyrigg?

Kp 5. Bonnyrigg sits at geomagnetic latitude 58.1°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 5. Storms that size occur about 28.7 nights a year.

When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Bonnyrigg?

September, March and October. 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 Bonnyrigg never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.

Where can you escape the light pollution near Bonnyrigg?

The centre of Bonnyrigg reads Bortle 6. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 26 km east-south-east around Scottish Borders. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.

Where is the nearest place to Bonnyrigg with reliable aurora borealis?

Inverness, United Kingdom — 191 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 5 and averages 28.7 viable nights a year against 22.6 in Bonnyrigg.

Nearby towns

Forecasts for places within reach of Bonnyrigg.