Is Edinburgh or Aberdeen better for the northern lights?

Aberdeen sits closer to the oval, at 59.1 degrees geomagnetic against 58.1. Darkness, cloud and your dates decide the rest; the tables on this page show both towns month by month.

Which has longer nights in December, Edinburgh or Aberdeen?

Aberdeen, with 15.5 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.3 in Edinburgh.

What Kp do Edinburgh and Aberdeen need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Edinburgh needs about Kp 4 and Aberdeen Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Edinburgh and Aberdeen?

Edinburgh: never, every night has civil darkness. Aberdeen: never, every night has civil darkness.

Which is clearer, Edinburgh or Aberdeen?

Edinburgh, with 77% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 78% in Aberdeen (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Edinburgh vs Aberdeen for the northern lights

Answer

Aberdeen sits 1.0 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 59.1 against 58.1. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Aberdeen needs about Kp 4 for the average edge to sit overhead and Edinburgh Kp 4. On the map Aberdeen is also closer to the pole, by 1.2 degrees.

58.1° / 59.1°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Edinburgh	Aberdeen
Dipole latitude	58.1°	59.1°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 4	Kp 4
Civil night, December 15	15.3 h	15.5 h
Dark-season days	365	332
Nights with no civil darkness	0	0
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	77%	78%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:08	00:04

Edinburgh sits at 58.1 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Aberdeen sits at 59.1 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 4, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Edinburgh has 15.3 hours of civil night and Aberdeen 15.5. Across the 15th of each month, Edinburgh is darker in 6 months and Aberdeen in 4. The widest gap comes in June, when Edinburgh has 0.6 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Edinburgh	Aberdeen	Difference
January	14.8 h	14.9 h	-0.1 h
February	12.9 h	13.0 h	-0.1 h
March	10.8 h	10.8 h	+0.0 h
April	8.3 h	8.1 h	+0.2 h
May	5.8 h	5.5 h	+0.3 h
June	4.1 h	3.5 h	+0.6 h
July	5.0 h	4.5 h	+0.5 h
August	7.4 h	7.1 h	+0.3 h
September	9.9 h	9.8 h	+0.1 h
October	12.2 h	12.2 h	+0.0 h
November	14.2 h	14.4 h	-0.2 h
December	15.3 h	15.5 h	-0.2 h

Difference: Edinburgh minus Aberdeen. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Edinburgh has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and clears Glow's 4-hour dark-season bar every evening. Aberdeen has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and its dark season, 4 or more evening hours of civil night, lasts 332 days.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 149 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 78% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Edinburgh's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Aberdeen's best month by civil night times clear sky is November. Time zones: Europe/London and Europe/London.

For tonight, open the live pages for Edinburgh and Aberdeen, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Edinburgh or Aberdeen better for the northern lights?: Aberdeen sits closer to the oval, at 59.1 degrees geomagnetic against 58.1. Darkness, cloud and your dates decide the rest; the tables on this page show both towns month by month.
Which has longer nights in December, Edinburgh or Aberdeen?: Aberdeen, with 15.5 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.3 in Edinburgh.
What Kp do Edinburgh and Aberdeen need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Edinburgh needs about Kp 4 and Aberdeen Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Edinburgh and Aberdeen?: Edinburgh: never, every night has civil darkness. Aberdeen: never, every night has civil darkness.
Which is clearer, Edinburgh or Aberdeen?: Edinburgh, with 77% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 78% in Aberdeen (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Sources and verification

IGRF-14 coefficients, NOAA NCEIhttps://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/IAGA/vmod/coeffs/igrf14coeffs.txt
SunCalchttps://github.com/mourner/suncalc
GeoNameshttps://www.geonames.org/export/
NASA POWER climatologyhttps://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/climatology/
NOAA SWPC, Tips on viewing the aurorahttps://www.spaceweather.gov/content/tips-viewing-aurora

Quoted figures last checked against their sources on 2026-09-30; next review 2026-12-31. Computed figures come from SunCalc and the IGRF-14 dipole as described in the methodology. Every quote is listed in the sources ledger.