Aurora Borealis in Sutton in Ashfield
United Kingdom · 53.13°, -1.26° · geomagnetic 55.1° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Sutton in Ashfield
11%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Sutton in Ashfield needs Kp 7 to see anything at all, and tonight the forecast peaks at Kp 5.7. Short of the threshold, which is what most nights look like here.
Updated 2026-08-02 20:20 UTC
The next 30 nights in Sutton in Ashfield
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 11%. Not one of the seven reaches the Kp 7 that Sutton in Ashfield needs, which is normal rather than unlucky — it averages 2.7 viable nights a year. The 23 nights past the seven-day window move with the 27-day solar rotation and are updated daily in the app.
Nights 8–30 unlock in the Revon app
See all 30 nights for Sutton in Ashfield
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Sutton in Ashfield
2.7 nights a year, averaged across 10.0 years of records
| Storm level | Nights / year |
|---|---|
| Kp 4 | 83.4 |
| Kp 5 | 28.7 |
| Kp 6 | 9.3 |
| Kp 7 | 3.2 |
| Kp 8 | 1.2 |
NOAA planetary Kp, 2016-04-02 to 2026-03-30
Wait for an alert; do not book a week
At Kp 7, Sutton in Ashfield needs a severe geomagnetic storm before anything shows above the northern horizon. Storms that size arrive a handful of times per solar cycle and announce themselves a day or two ahead. Watching for one beats picking dates and hoping.
Hours of true darkness, month by month
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.7 | 10.3 | 8.4 | 5.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.2 | 7.4 | 9.7 | 11.4 | 12.1 |
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 Sutton in Ashfield horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
The sky over Sutton in Ashfield reads Bortle 7. Getting clear of the built-up area makes a visible difference on a marginal night.
- 66 km south-east — around South Kesteven → Bortle 5
- 102 km east — around East Lindsey → Bortle 4
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, August and November came out ahead in Sutton in Ashfield. 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 Sutton in Ashfield viewing season.
- 13 Aug 2026
- 11 Sep 2026
- 11 Oct 2026
- 09 Nov 2026
- 09 Dec 2026
- 07 Jan 2027
- 06 Feb 2027
Where it is close to a certainty
If you would rather plan a trip than wait for a storm, the nearest place with genuinely frequent aurora is Inverness, 519 km north-north-west in United Kingdom.
| Sutton in Ashfield | Inverness | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 5 |
| Nights per year | 2.7 | 28.7 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 55.1° | 59.8° |
Confirmed reports from this area
104 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Sutton in Ashfield 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 Sutton in Ashfield
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 Sutton in Ashfield.
- Herrod's Hill — hill3.4 km west-north-west
- Silverhill — hill4.0 km north-west
- Don Island — island34.1 km north
- Wardlow Hay Cop — mountain35.0 km west-north-west
- Locko Park — park22.4 km south-south-west
- Holme Nook — island23.9 km south-west
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. Sutton in Ashfield keeps its fortified past above ground, at Clipstone Mediumwave Transmitter, Bolsover Castle and Clipstone.
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 Sutton in Ashfield will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Days Inn Chesterfield Tibshelf 4.9 km from the centre
- The View At The White Horse Woolley Moor 12.9 km from the centre
- The Derbyshire Hotel 4.8 km from the centre
- Renaissance Derby Nottingham Hotel 4.9 km from the centre
- Dakota Nottingham 6.3 km from the centre
- Eastwood Hall 11.7 km from the centre
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 Sutton in Ashfield and the sky was dark enough to show it.
| Date | Peak |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-20 | Kp 7.0 |
| 2026-01-20 | Kp 7.67 |
| 2026-01-19 | Kp 8.67 |
| 2025-11-12 | Kp 7.33 |
| 2025-11-11 | Kp 8.67 |
NOAA planetary Kp
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Sutton in Ashfield forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Sutton in Ashfield
Can you see the aurora borealis from Sutton in Ashfield?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Sutton in Ashfield had about 2.7 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 Sutton in Ashfield?
Kp 7. Sutton in Ashfield sits at geomagnetic latitude 55.1°, and the auroral oval only reaches that far from the pole once activity hits Kp 7. Storms that size occur about 3.2 nights a year.
When is the best time of year to see the aurora borealis in Sutton in Ashfield?
September, August and November. 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 Sutton in Ashfield never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Sutton in Ashfield?
The centre of Sutton in Ashfield reads Bortle 7. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 102 km east around East Lindsey. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Sutton in Ashfield with reliable aurora borealis?
Inverness, United Kingdom — 519 km north-north-west. It needs only Kp 5 and averages 28.7 viable nights a year against 2.7 in Sutton in Ashfield.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Sutton in Ashfield.