Aurora Borealis in Ulster
Ireland · 54.95°, -7.73° · geomagnetic 57.9° · needs Kp 7
Tonight in Ulster
34%
Peak chance of a visible display tonight, from the same model the Revon app runs. Ulster 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 Ulster
Every night to come, scored the same way as tonight. The best of the open week is Sunday 2 Aug at 34%. Not one of the seven reaches the Kp 7 that Ulster needs, which is normal rather than unlucky — it averages 2.6 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
Revon aurora model over the NOAA Kp forecast and 27-day outlook
How often the aurora borealis reaches Ulster
2.6 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, Ulster 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11.8 | 10.3 | 8.2 | 5.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 3.4 | 7.2 | 9.7 | 11.4 | 12.2 |
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 Ulster horizon, so the sky never darkens fully. Plan around the darker half of the year.
Getting clear of the light
Ulster is small enough that its own lights are a minor problem — the centre reads Bortle 4. Walking to the edge of town is often escape enough.
- 6 km north — around County Donegal → Bortle 4
- 6 km north — around County Donegal → 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 Ulster. 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 Ulster 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, 355 km north-east in United Kingdom.
| Ulster | Inverness | |
|---|---|---|
| Kp needed | 7 | 5 |
| Nights per year | 2.6 | 28.7 |
| Geomagnetic latitude | 57.9° | 59.8° |
Confirmed reports from this area
172 verified sightings were logged within 300 km of Ulster 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 Ulster
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 Ulster.
- Knockbrin — hill4.2 km north-north-east
- Gregory Hill — hill5.6 km west
- Lough Akibbon — lake11.1 km west-north-west
- Lough Fern — lake12.2 km north
- Whale Head — cape15.3 km north-east
- Ballykenny Point — headland15.3 km north-east
Places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0)
Where to stay
Anywhere on the outskirts of Ulster will do; what matters is being able to step outside and check the sky without a drive first.
- Letterkenny Court Hotel 0.1 km from the centre
- Radisson SAS Hotel Letterkenny 0.1 km from the centre
- Dillons Hotel Limited 0.2 km from the centre
- Dillons Hotel Letterkenny 0.2 km from the centre
- Galaghers Letterkenny 0.3 km from the centre
- Gallaghers Hotel Letterkenny 0.6 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 Ulster 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
Aurora forecasts across Ulster
All 1 places in Ulster with a forecast page, and the Kp each one needs.
- LetterkennyKp 7
Know when it is worth going outside
Revon watches the Ulster forecast and pushes an alert when the odds for tonight clear your threshold — no checking, no guessing.
Common questions about the aurora borealis in Ulster
Can you see the aurora borealis from Ulster?
Yes. On the last 10.0 years of NOAA Kp records, Ulster had about 2.6 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 Ulster?
Kp 7. Ulster sits at geomagnetic latitude 57.9°, 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 Ulster?
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 Ulster never gets fully dark, so nothing is visible however strong the storm.
Where can you escape the light pollution near Ulster?
The centre of Ulster reads Bortle 4. The nearest sky at Bortle 4 is about 6 km north around County Donegal. On a marginal night that drive matters more than the forecast does.
Where is the nearest place to Ulster with reliable aurora borealis?
Inverness, United Kingdom — 355 km north-east. It needs only Kp 5 and averages 28.7 viable nights a year against 2.6 in Ulster.
Nearby towns
Forecasts for places within reach of Ulster.