Is Glasgow or Edinburgh better for the northern lights?

Glasgow sits closer to the oval, at 58.2 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, Glasgow or Edinburgh?

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

What Kp do Glasgow and Edinburgh need?

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

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

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

Which is clearer, Glasgow or Edinburgh?

Glasgow, with 76% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 77% in Edinburgh (NASA POWER, 2001 to 2020).

Comparison

Glasgow vs Edinburgh for the northern lights

Answer

Glasgow sits 0.1 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 58.2 against 58.1. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Glasgow needs about Kp 4 for the average edge to sit overhead and Edinburgh Kp 4. That reverses the map, where Edinburgh is 0.1 degrees closer to the pole.

58.2° / 58.1°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Glasgow	Edinburgh
Dipole latitude	58.2°	58.1°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 4	Kp 4
Civil night, December 15	15.3 h	15.3 h
Dark-season days	365	365
Nights with no civil darkness	0	0
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	76%	77%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:12	00:08

Glasgow sits at 58.2 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. 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.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Glasgow has 15.3 hours of civil night and Edinburgh 15.3. Across the 15th of each month, Glasgow is darker in 1 months and Edinburgh in 1. The widest gap comes in January, when Edinburgh has 0.1 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Glasgow	Edinburgh	Difference
January	14.7 h	14.8 h	-0.1 h
February	12.9 h	12.9 h	+0.0 h
March	10.8 h	10.8 h	+0.0 h
April	8.3 h	8.3 h	+0.0 h
May	5.8 h	5.8 h	+0.0 h
June	4.2 h	4.1 h	+0.1 h
July	5.0 h	5.0 h	+0.0 h
August	7.4 h	7.4 h	+0.0 h
September	9.9 h	9.9 h	+0.0 h
October	12.2 h	12.2 h	+0.0 h
November	14.2 h	14.2 h	+0.0 h
December	15.3 h	15.3 h	+0.0 h

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

Season and midnight sun

Glasgow has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and clears Glow's 4-hour dark-season bar every evening. Edinburgh has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and clears Glow's 4-hour dark-season bar every evening.

Distance, cloud and time zones

The two towns are 67 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 77% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Glasgow's best month by civil night times clear sky is November. Edinburgh's best month by civil night times clear sky is December. Time zones: Europe/London and Europe/London.

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

Questions

Is Glasgow or Edinburgh better for the northern lights?: Glasgow sits closer to the oval, at 58.2 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, Glasgow or Edinburgh?: Glasgow, with 15.3 hours of civil night on December 15 against 15.3 in Edinburgh.
What Kp do Glasgow and Edinburgh need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Glasgow needs about Kp 4 and Edinburgh Kp 4 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Glasgow and Edinburgh?: Glasgow: never, every night has civil darkness. Edinburgh: never, every night has civil darkness.
Which is clearer, Glasgow or Edinburgh?: Glasgow, with 76% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 77% in Edinburgh (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.