Aurora Borealis in Harrogate
United Kingdom · 53.99°, -1.54° · geomagnetic 56.0° · needs Kp 7
Tonight's aurora forecast for Harrogate
11%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Harrogate needs Kp 7 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 10:36 UTC
Local aurora guide for Harrogate
Harrogate is at 56.0° geomagnetic latitude. Auroras are typically visible at this latitude when the Kp index reaches 7.
On average, there are 2.6 nights per year in Harrogate suitable for aurora viewing. These opportunities are recorded between 2016 and 2026.
The best months for aurora viewing in Harrogate are September, August, and November. These months offer the necessary darkness.
From May to July, Harrogate experiences periods without full darkness, which may impact viewing opportunities.
Harrogate has a Bortle scale rating of 6, indicating moderate light pollution. Areas with Bortle 4 are located 47 km west and Bortle 5 areas are 19 km east.
Notable elevated terrain near Harrogate includes Gibbet Hill to the north-east and Horse Hill to the north-north-west. The Island is a notable island feature to the north-east, while Lud Stream Islands are to the west and Simon's Seat is a mountain to the west-north-west.
Geographic features near Harrogate include Gibbet Hill, a hill located 7.3 km north-east, and Horse Hill, a hill 8.9 km north-north-west.
Further afield, The Island, an island 13.0 km north-north-east, Lud Stream Islands, an island 22.8 km west, and Simon's Seat, a mountain 23.0 km west-north-west, are also noted.
Between 2016 and 2026, there were 2.6 nights per year in Harrogate suitable for aurora viewing.
Notable qualifying nights recorded include 2026-03-20 (Kp 7.0), 2026-01-20 (Kp 7.67), 2026-01-19 (Kp 8.67), 2025-11-12 (Kp 7.33), and 2025-11-11 (Kp 8.67).
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)
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Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Harrogate.