Aurora Borealis in Motherwell
United Kingdom · 55.79°, -3.99° · geomagnetic 58.1° · needs Kp 5
Tonight's aurora forecast for Motherwell
46%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Motherwell 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 Motherwell
Motherwell is at a geomagnetic latitude of 58.1°.
Auroras are typically visible when the Kp index reaches 5.
On average, there are 22.7 nights per year with conditions suitable for aurora viewing.
The best months for aurora viewing in Motherwell are September, March, and October.
During May, June, and July, there is no full darkness, which can impact viewing conditions.
Motherwell experiences a Bortle 7 sky, indicating significant light pollution.
Areas with darker skies, such as Bortle 4 conditions, can be found 54 km north-north-west near Stirling.
Darker skies, Bortle 5, are also available 36 km south-south-east near South Lanarkshire. Notable terrain features include Cant Hills to the east-north-east, Duntilland Hill to the north-east, and Hogganfield Loch to the north-west.
The Cant Hills are located 11.1 km east-north-east of Motherwell.
Duntilland Hill is situated 11.2 km north-east of Motherwell.
Parkhead, a cape, is 13.7 km west-north-west of Motherwell. Spiers Island, an island, is also 13.7 km north-east of Motherwell, and Hogganfield Loch is 15.1 km north-west.
Between 2015 and 2016, there were 254 verified aurora reports within 300 km of Motherwell.
The period from 2016 to 2026 has recorded several nights with significant geomagnetic activity, including Kp values of 5.0, 6.67, 6.0, and 7.0 on dates such as March 20, 21, 22, 23, and 24, 2026.
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 Motherwell 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 Motherwell.