Aurora Borealis in Elgin
United Kingdom · 57.65°, -3.32° · geomagnetic 59.8° · needs Kp 5
Tonight's aurora forecast for Elgin
52%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Elgin needs Kp 5 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 4.9. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.
Get the full 30-night forecast in Revon
Updated 2026-09-08 10:35 UTC
Local aurora guide for Elgin
Elgin is at a geomagnetic latitude of 59.8°, which is favorable for aurora viewing.
An aurora display requires a Kp index of 5 or higher. Based on historical data, there are approximately 21.9 viable nights per year for aurora viewing in this region.
The best months for aurora viewing in Elgin are September, March, and October.
During May, June, and July, there is no full darkness, which can impact viewing conditions.
Elgin has a Bortle scale rating of 2, indicating very dark skies.
Areas near Banffshire, 12 km north-north-east of Elgin, also have a Bortle rating of 2.
Notable terrain features include Quarrywood Hill to the west, and Lossiemouth East Beach, Stotfield Head, Spey Bay, and Tappoch to the north-east and west.
Quarrywood Hill is a hill located 3.4 km west of Elgin.
Lossiemouth East Beach is a beach situated 8.0 km north-north-east of Elgin.
Stotfield Head is a cape 8.1 km north-north-east of Elgin. Tappoch is a hill 8.2 km west-north-west of Elgin, and Spey Bay is a bay 8.3 km north-north-east of Elgin.
There are 165 verified aurora reports within 300 km of Elgin between January 2015 and December 2016.
The record span for aurora data in this region is from April 2, 2016, to March 30, 2026.
Specific qualifying nights with high Kp values include March 24, 2026 (Kp 5.0), March 23, 2026 (Kp 5.0), March 22, 2026 (Kp 6.67), March 21, 2026 (Kp 6.0), and March 20, 2026 (Kp 7.0).
Sources: Revon analysis of NOAA planetary Kp · Solar declination and hour-angle calculation · Falchi 2016 World Atlas of artificial night sky brightness · GeoNames (CC BY 4.0) · Aurorasaurus verified positive reports
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Elgin forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Elgin.