Scotland, United KingdomMagnetic latitude 54.5°Population 3,150216 m above sea level
Northern lights in Aviemore
Aviemore needs an active night: from about Kp 4 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows. Since 1995 that level (Kp 4.7) was reached during darkness here on 938 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:33.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Only in photos, if at all
- Solar activity Enough for a camera: Kp 2.7 expected, 2.3 needed for photos, 4 for the eye.
- Sky Mostly clear (39% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:33 to 06:29.
What to do: Point a phone in night mode north (3–10 s exposure). A red or green glow often shows on the screen before you can see it.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 Photos only · Kp 2.7
- Sat 17 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- Sun 18 1.7 No · Kp 1.7
- 27-day trend Mon 19 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 20 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Wed 21 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Possible · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Sun 25 2 No · Kp 2
- Mon 26 2 No · Kp 2
- Tue 27 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 28 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 29 2 No · Kp 2
- Fri 30 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Good chance · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Photos only · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Photos only · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Photos only · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Photos only · Kp 3
Saturday 24 October — Possible · Kp 4 · best around 00:30 · Forecast cloud: 77%. · Reliability: low (rough trend)
Each box is one night: the colour shows the chance, the number the expected Kp. Tap a night for details.
📅 Add these nights to your calendar — it updates itself (.ics)
How far ahead can the northern lights be forecast?
- Minutes to an hour: satellites 1.5 million km away measure the solar wind before it reaches Earth. This is the surest warning — the “Right now” box uses it.
- 1–3 days: when the Sun throws out a cloud of particles, it takes one to three days to arrive. NOAA's 3-hourly forecast covers these nights; the timing can still be off by a few hours.
- 4–27 days: the Sun turns once every 27 days, and regions that disturbed Earth's field last time often do it again. NOAA's 27-day outlook gives this rough trend — new eruptions are not in it yet.
Tonight
Updated 14:44 local time
Unlikely
Best around 00:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 4), average cloud 39%.
- Dark enough
- 19:33 – 06:29
- Sunset
- 18:09 · sunrise 07:53
- Moon
- 31% · ↑ 15:17 · ↓ 20:09
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 4
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 2.3 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (354°)
Clearer skies nearby tonight
Forecast cloud during tonight's darkness: 39% here. The clearest option within 100 km is about 100 km to the south, near Dunblane, with 6%. Open in OpenStreetMap
MET Norway forecast at 24 points within 100 km, averaged over the dark hours. Check roads and conditions before driving.
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Aviemore
Facing north. Bands show where the aurora sits at two activity levels.
| Kp | What you see | Lower edge | Ray tops | Distance to the aurora |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Below the horizon | 3° | 8° | 890 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 6° | 13° | 667 km |
| 4 | Visible to the north | 11° | 22° | 445 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 24° | 41° | 222 km |
| 6 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 7 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
| 9 | Overhead, and also to the south | – | – | – |
The Kp scale in plain words
Kp is a 0–9 score for how strongly the Earth's magnetic field is being shaken by the solar wind. The higher it goes, the further from the poles the northern lights reach. Kp 0–2 is a quiet night; Kp 5 and above is a geomagnetic storm.
- Kp 0–2 Quiet camera in Aviemore Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled next 24 h Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active eye in Aviemore Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) Scotland, southern Scandinavia, the Baltic states, the northern US states and southern Canada.
- Kp 6 Moderate storm (G2) Northern England, Denmark, northern Germany and Poland, the US Midwest — often clearer in photos than to the eye.
- Kp 7 Strong storm (G3) Most of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Czechia; red glow in photos from France and the northern Alps.
- Kp 8 Severe storm (G4) Central Europe to the eye; red sky in photos from northern Italy, Spain, the Balkans and Turkey's Black Sea coast.
- Kp 9 Extreme storm (G5) Seen across Europe and the US; in photos as far south as the Mediterranean, Turkey and North Africa (May 2024).
Light pollution
Rural to suburban. Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out.
A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the south-east. Open in OpenStreetMap
Estimate from NASA VIIRS night-light data (sky-glow model within 50 km). Check access and private land before you go.
Hills and mountains
The terrain rises to about 5° above the horizon towards the north. That hides low aurora: here you need about Kp 4 instead of Kp 4. A hilltop, shore or open field with a clear view to the north helps.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Aviemore
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (8% of nights), followed by March (7%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 8% | 41% | 8.4 h | 7° / 12°C |
| October | 7% | 41% | 10.8 h | 4° / 9°C |
| November | 5% | 38% | 12.8 h | 1° / 5°C |
| December | 5% | 31% | 13.6 h | -1° / 3°C |
| January | 2% | 25% | 13.3 h | -2° / 2°C |
| February | 5% | 26% | 11.4 h | -2° / 2°C |
| March | 7% | 32% | 9.3 h | -1° / 4°C |
| April | 6% | 44% | 6.3 h | 1° / 7°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 23 May to 21 July — the sky stays too bright for most auroras.
- Next new moon 9 November, next full moon 26 October. The darkest skies are in the week around new moon.
Aurora nights in Aviemore since 1995
Nights when Kp reached 4.7 or more while it was dark here.
Most recent strong nights
- 10 October 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 4 October 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 15 May 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 3 April 2026 · Kp 5.7
- 22 March 2026 · Kp 6.7
- 20 March 2026 · Kp 7.0
- 13 March 2026 · Kp 6.0
- 3 March 2026 · Kp 5.0
Where to watch near Aviemore
-
Cairngorm Mountain car park (Coire Cas)
High, north-facing car park above Glenmore with a view over Strathspey. · about 15 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Tomintoul
Village and Dark Sky Discovery Site inside the Tomintoul and Glenlivet Dark Sky Park. · about 45 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Blairfindy (Glenlivet)
Dark Sky Discovery Site in Glenlivet with easy road access and an open vantage point. · about 55 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
-
Dava Moor
Low moorland north of Grantown-on-Spey whose hills look north towards the Moray Firth. · about 35 km · Open in OpenStreetMap
Local knowledge
- Tomintoul and Glenlivet form an International Dark Sky Park, described as the most northerly in the world when designated.
- The best aurora period is mid-October to mid-March; avoid nights near full moon.
- Cold, clear evenings with increased solar activity give the best chance; check AuroraWatch UK.
- The Cairngorms often have drier, clearer weather than the west of Scotland.
- The Cairngorms Astronomy Group runs dark-sky events through the year.
The A939 over the Lecht to Tomintoul is one of the first UK roads closed by snow; check Traffic Scotland before driving.
Mountain weather above Coire Cas can turn severe quickly; do not walk onto the plateau at night.
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Inverness Airport (INV) · 41 km
Aberdeen International Airport (ABZ) · 98 km - Typical low / high in September
- 7° / 12°C
- What to wear
- Cool nights: layers, a windproof jacket, hat and gloves for standing still outside. Full clothing guide
- Emergency number
- 999 / 112
- Winter driving
- Winter tyres are not legally required anywhere in the UK (minimum tread 1.6 mm); check Traffic Scotland (trafficscotland.org) for Scottish trunk roads and National Highways for England's motorways and major A-roads. Road conditions
- Access to land
- In Scotland the Scottish Outdoor Access Code gives access rights over most land and inland water at any time of day or night (including responsible wild camping), provided you act responsibly and keep away from buildings; in England and Wales the CRoW Act right of access covers only mapped open access land, on foot, and excludes camping and driving unless the landowner allows it.
- Official space-weather service
- Met Office Space Weather (incl. aurora forecast)
- Weather service
- Met Office
Questions and answers
What Kp do you need to see the aurora in Aviemore?
Aviemore needs an active night: from about Kp 4 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Aviemore?
Face north (about 354° from true north). At Kp 4 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 11° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Aviemore?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Aviemore (8% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by March (7%).
When is the aurora season in Aviemore?
From 23 May to 21 July the sky in Aviemore never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Aviemore?
Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out. A noticeably darker area starts about 5 km to the south-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Aviemore?
Activity last reached storm level (Kp 5 or more) during darkness in Aviemore on 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0) — 938 such nights since 1995. Here the aurora also appears on many quieter nights.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Aviemore share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Granish 2 km
- Coylumbridge 3 km
- Inverdruie 4 km
- Avielochan 4 km
- Kinveachy 6 km
- Rothiemurchus 7 km
- Boat of Garten 7 km
- Delfour 7 km
- Kinrara 8 km
- Glenmore 8 km
- Eil 8 km
- Dalnahaitnach 8 km
- Alvie 8 km
- Speybank 8 km
- Dalnavert 8 km
- Inverlaidnan 9 km
- Carr 9 km
- Kincraig 10 km
- Feshiebridge 10 km
- Carrbridge 10 km
- Ellan 10 km
- Bogroy 10 km
- Lochanhully 10 km
- Cullachie 10 km
- Duthil 12 km
- Duackbridge 12 km
- Croftjames 12 km
- Clune 16 km
- Dalmigavie 17 km
- Tomatin 18 km
- Raigbeg 18 km
- Corrybrough 19 km
- Coignashie 19 km
- Wester Gaulrig 27 km
- Easter Gaulrig 27 km
- Easter Gaulrig 27 km
- Delnabo 27 km
- Inchrory 29 km
- Inverey 32 km
- Braemar 33 km