Is Liverpool or Bolton better for the northern lights?

Bolton sits closer to the oval, at 55.7 degrees geomagnetic against 55.6. 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, Liverpool or Bolton?

Bolton, with 15.0 hours of civil night on December 15 against 14.9 in Liverpool.

What Kp do Liverpool and Bolton need?

By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Liverpool needs about Kp 6 and Bolton Kp 6 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.

When is it too light for aurora in Liverpool and Bolton?

Liverpool: never, every night has civil darkness. Bolton: never, every night has civil darkness.

Which is clearer, Liverpool or Bolton?

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

Comparison

Liverpool vs Bolton for the northern lights

Answer

Bolton sits 0.1 degrees higher on the IGRF-14 dipole, 55.7 against 55.6. By SWPC's oval-edge rule Bolton needs about Kp 6 for the average edge to sit overhead and Liverpool Kp 6. On the map Bolton is also closer to the pole, by 0.2 degrees.

55.6° / 55.7°

dipole latitude

Side by side

Computed figures for both towns
Figure	Liverpool	Bolton
Dipole latitude	55.6°	55.7°
Kp for the oval edge overhead	Kp 6	Kp 6
Civil night, December 15	14.9 h	15.0 h
Dark-season days	365	365
Nights with no civil darkness	0	0
Dark-month cloud, NASA POWER	77%	77%
Solar midnight, December 15	00:07	00:05

Liverpool sits at 55.6 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Bolton sits at 55.7 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 6, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.

Civil night month by month

On December 15 Liverpool has 14.9 hours of civil night and Bolton 15.0. Across the 15th of each month, Liverpool is darker in 1 months and Bolton in 2. The widest gap comes in January, when Bolton has 0.1 more hours.

Hours of civil night on the 15th of each month, 2026
Month	Liverpool	Bolton	Difference
January	14.4 h	14.5 h	-0.1 h
February	12.8 h	12.8 h	+0.0 h
March	10.9 h	10.9 h	+0.0 h
April	8.6 h	8.6 h	+0.0 h
May	6.4 h	6.4 h	+0.0 h
June	5.1 h	5.0 h	+0.1 h
July	5.7 h	5.7 h	+0.0 h
August	7.8 h	7.8 h	+0.0 h
September	10.0 h	10.0 h	+0.0 h
October	12.1 h	12.1 h	+0.0 h
November	14.0 h	14.0 h	+0.0 h
December	14.9 h	15.0 h	-0.1 h

Difference: Liverpool minus Bolton. Each figure links to that town's month page.

Season and midnight sun

Liverpool has some civil darkness every night of 2026, and clears Glow's 4-hour dark-season bar every evening. Bolton 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 41 km apart by great circle. In the dark months both average about 77% cloud in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record. Liverpool's best month by civil night times clear sky is February. Bolton'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 Liverpool and Bolton, which carry the live OVATION cell.

Questions

Is Liverpool or Bolton better for the northern lights?: Bolton sits closer to the oval, at 55.7 degrees geomagnetic against 55.6. 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, Liverpool or Bolton?: Bolton, with 15.0 hours of civil night on December 15 against 14.9 in Liverpool.
What Kp do Liverpool and Bolton need?: By SWPC's rule of 66 degrees at Kp 0 and 2 degrees per step, Liverpool needs about Kp 6 and Bolton Kp 6 for the average oval edge to sit overhead.
When is it too light for aurora in Liverpool and Bolton?: Liverpool: never, every night has civil darkness. Bolton: never, every night has civil darkness.
Which is clearer, Liverpool or Bolton?: Liverpool, with 77% mean cloud in the months with 4 hours or more of civil night against 77% in Bolton (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.