Scotland, United KingdomMagnetic latitude 53.0°Population 2,350165 m above sea level
Northern lights in Polbeth
Polbeth needs an active night: from about Kp 4.7 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 986 nights.
Right now
It is still light here. Darkness starts at 19:31.
Updates every minute while this page is open.
Tonight in one minute
Not tonight
- Solar activity Too weak: Kp 2.7 expected, 4.7 needed here.
- Sky Mostly clear (11% cloud).
- Darkness Dark from 19:31 to 06:28.
What to do: Not tonight — your next chance is shown just below.
- Detailed forecast Fri 16 2.7 No · 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 Unlikely · Kp 4
- Thu 22 4 Unlikely · Kp 4
- Fri 23 4 Photos only · Kp 4
- Sat 24 3 Photos only · 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 Possible · Kp 5
- Sat 31 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Sun 1 5 Possible · Kp 5
- Mon 2 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Tue 3 2 No · Kp 2
- Wed 4 2 No · Kp 2
- Thu 5 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Fri 6 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
- Sat 7 3 Unlikely · Kp 3
Friday 30 October — Possible · Kp 5 · best around 23:00 · No cloud forecast this far ahead; in October about 26% of nights are clear here. · 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 17:26 local time
Unlikely
Best around 22:00. Forecast max Kp 2.7 (this place needs 4.7), average cloud 11%.
- Dark enough
- 19:31 – 06:28
- Sunset
- 18:11 · sunrise 07:49
- Moon
- 32% · ↑ 15:00 · ↓ 20:24
- Kp neededKp index: a 0–9 measure of geomagnetic activity. The higher it is, the further from the poles the aurora reaches.
- Kp 4.7
- Kp for photos
- In photos: from Kp 3 (a red glow low in the north).
- Look towards
- north (354°)
Score = activity (NOAA Kp and OVATION) × clear sky (MET Norway) × darkness × moonlight. Methodology
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What you would see from Polbeth
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 | 1° | 6° | 1,056 km |
| 3 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 3° | 10° | 834 km |
| 4 | Faint glow, mostly on camera | 7° | 15° | 612 km |
| 5 | Visible to the north | 13° | 25° | 389 km |
| 6 | Visible to the north | 31° | 49° | 167 km |
| 7 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 8 | Overhead and all around | – | – | – |
| 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 Only under the auroral oval: northern Norway, Swedish and Finnish Lapland, Iceland, Alaska, northern Canada.
- Kp 3 Unsettled next 24 h camera in Polbeth Bright in the Arctic; low on the horizon in central Scandinavia and southern Iceland.
- Kp 4 Active Overhead in the Arctic; low in the north from southern Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Scotland.
- Kp 5 Minor storm (G1) eye in Polbeth 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 15 km to the south-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 horizon towards the north is open (terrain below 0.5°), so low aurora is not blocked.
From elevation data (AWS Terrain Tiles) along seven lines of sight up to 30 km.
Best months to see the aurora in Polbeth
Share of nights 2005–2025 that were dark, active enough here and mostly clear.
September has been the best month (4% of nights), followed by October (3%).
| Month | Good nights | Clear nights | Darkness | Low / high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September | 4% | 38% | 8.4 h | 8° / 15°C |
| October | 3% | 26% | 10.8 h | 6° / 12°C |
| November | 1% | 21% | 12.6 h | 3° / 8°C |
| December | 0.8% | 16% | 13.6 h | 1° / 5°C |
| January | 0.6% | 15% | 13.1 h | 1° / 5°C |
| February | 2% | 21% | 11.4 h | 1° / 5°C |
| March | 3% | 25% | 9.4 h | 1° / 7°C |
| April | 2% | 35% | 6.5 h | 3° / 10°C |
Darkness through the year
- No full darkness (Sun 12° below the horizon) from 29 May to 15 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 Polbeth 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
- 3 July 2026 · Kp 5.3
- 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
Practical information
- Nearest airport
- Edinburgh Airport (EDI) · 15 km
- Typical low / high in September
- 8° / 15°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 Polbeth?
Polbeth needs an active night: from about Kp 4.7 the aurora appears low over the north horizon, and it rises higher as activity grows.
Which way should I look for the aurora in Polbeth?
Face north (about 354° from true north). At Kp 4.7 the lower edge of the aurora sits roughly 13° above the horizon; stronger activity lifts it higher and further across the sky.
What is the best month to see the aurora in Polbeth?
Over 2005–2025, September gave the best odds in Polbeth (4% of nights dark, active enough and mostly clear), followed by October (3%).
When is the aurora season in Polbeth?
From 29 May to 15 July the sky in Polbeth never gets dark enough. Outside that period the aurora can be seen whenever activity and clouds allow.
Is there much light pollution in Polbeth?
Some sky glow from nearby lights. Moderate displays are fine; faint ones are easier a few kilometres out. A noticeably darker area starts about 15 km to the south-south-east.
When was the aurora last possible in Polbeth?
The most recent night in our data when activity reached the level Polbeth needs, during darkness, was 10 October 2026 (Kp 7.0). It has happened on 986 nights since 1995.
Also covered by this forecast
Villages and districts around Polbeth share its forecast: within a few kilometres the sky, the Kp needed and the best direction are the same.
- Bellsquarry 2 km