Aurora Borealis in Livingston

United Kingdom · 55.90°, -3.52° · geomagnetic 58.2° · needs Kp 5

Tonight in Livingston

39%

Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Livingston 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
39%
18
20
22
00
02
04
06
Tomorrow Mon 3 Aug
5%
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 Livingston

Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 39%. One of the seven reaches the Kp 5 that Livingston 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
39%
Kp 5.7
Mon 3
5%
Kp 3.3
Tue 4
2%
Kp 1.8
Wed 5
13%
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 Livingston

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

How often the aurora borealis reaches Livingston

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

Getting clear of the light

The sky over Livingston reads Bortle 7. Getting clear of the built-up area makes a visible difference on a marginal night.

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 Livingston. 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 Livingston viewing season.

Where it is close to a certainty

Inverness is close enough to reach and return in a night — 180 km north-north-west — and needs only Kp 5.

LivingstonInverness
Kp needed55
Nights per year22.6 28.7
Geomagnetic latitude58.2° 59.8°

See the Inverness forecast

Confirmed reports from this area

249 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Livingston 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 Livingston

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 Livingston.

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. Livingston keeps its fortified past above ground, at Niddry Castle, Linlithgow Palace and Binns Tower.

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 Livingston 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 Livingston 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 Livingston 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 Livingston

Can you see the aurora borealis from Livingston?

Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Livingston 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 Livingston?

Kp 5. Livingston sits at geomagnetic latitude 58.2°, 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 Livingston?

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 Livingston never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.

Where can you escape the light pollution near Livingston?

The centre of Livingston reads Bortle 7. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 49 km east-north-east around East Lothian. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.

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

Inverness, United Kingdom — 180 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 5 and averages 28.7 viable nights a year against 22.6 in Livingston.

Nearby towns

Forecasts for places within reach of Livingston.