Ashton-under-Lyne · May 2027
Northern lights in Ashton-under-Lyne in May 2027
Answer
May against the rest of the year
May cloud at Ashton-under-Lyne averages 72% in NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 record, 5 points clearer than its yearly mean. No month at Ashton-under-Lyne is clearer. By civil night times clear sky, May scores 1.8 hours at Ashton-under-Lyne, 10th of 12. Manchester, England, 9 km away, averages the same 72%.
Civil night at Ashton-under-Lyne starts May at 7 h 25 min and reaches 5 h 31 min by May 31, 1.9 hours shorter. The 10 PM to 2 AM window is fully dark on 20 of 31 nights. The sun never reaches 18 degrees down, so Ashton-under-Lyne gets no astronomical night in May.
May night by night
May opens toward a new moon on May 6, with full moon on May 20, in Europe/London dates. Ashton-under-Lyne gets 102 hours of civil night with the moon below the horizon across the month. The best of them for moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM: May 1 (4 h), May 2 (4 h), May 3 (4 h).
- 1
22% lit
6.6 h
- 2
14% lit
6.7 h
- 3
8% lit
6.8 h
- 4
3% lit
7.0 h
- 5
1% lit
7.1 h
- 6
1% lit
7.0 h
- 7
3% lit
5.5 h
- 8
8% lit
4.3 h
- 9
16% lit
3.3 h
- 10
25% lit
2.6 h
- 11
36% lit
2.2 h
- 12
47% lit
1.8 h
- 13
59% lit
1.6 h
- 14
69% lit
1.4 h
- 15
79% lit
1.1 h
- 16
87% lit
0.9 h
- 17
93% lit
0.7 h
- 18
97% lit
0.3 h
- 19
100% lit
0.0 h
- 20
100% lit
0.1 h
- 21
98% lit
1.2 h
- 22
94% lit
2.0 h
- 23
89% lit
2.6 h
- 24
82% lit
3.0 h
- 25
74% lit
3.3 h
- 26
65% lit
3.5 h
- 27
56% lit
3.6 h
- 28
46% lit
3.8 h
- 29
37% lit
3.9 h
- 30
27% lit
4.1 h
- 31
18% lit
4.3 h
Each cell is the night that starts on that date. Hours are civil-dark time with the moon below the horizon; the green rule scales with them. Green outline: new moon. Bone outline: full moon.
Activity in past Mays
Ashton-under-Lyne needs Kp 6 for the average oval edge to sit overhead. 39 of the 930 May days from 1996 to 2025 (4%) reached it in the GFZ Potsdam record, 4th of 12 months; storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%. Ashton-under-Lyne 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.
May across United Kingdom
Ashton-under-Lyne ranks 5th in United Kingdom for civil night on May 15, behind Stoke-on-Trent at 6.5 hours. Coming from April (8.6 hours at Ashton-under-Lyne), May loses darkness, and June brings shorter nights (5.1 hours on the 15th).
| Town | Civil night | Cloud |
|---|---|---|
| Stoke-on-Trent | 6.5 h | 72% |
| Mansfield | 6.5 h | 71% |
| Chesterfield | 6.5 h | 71% |
| Lincoln | 6.5 h | 71% |
| Ashton-under-Lyne | 6.4 h | 72% |
| Manchester, England | 6.4 h | 72% |
| Sheffield | 6.4 h | 71% |
| Leeds | 6.4 h | 71% |
| Liverpool | 6.4 h | 72% |
| Kingston upon Hull | 6.4 h | 71% |
| Preston | 6.4 h | 72% |
| St Helens | 6.4 h | 72% |
Darkness and moon, every night
| Night | Civil | Astronomical | Moon-free dark | Moon-free, 10 PM to 2 AM | Moon lit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sat May 1 | 7 h 25 min | 3 h 4 min | 6 h 34 min | 4 h | 22% |
| Sun May 2 | 7 h 20 min | 2 h 54 min | 6 h 42 min | 4 h | 14% |
| Mon May 3 | 7 h 16 min | 2 h 43 min | 6 h 51 min | 4 h | 8% |
| Tue May 4 | 7 h 12 min | 2 h 32 min | 7 h 2 min | 4 h | 3% |
| Wed May 5 | 7 h 7 min | 2 h 20 min | 7 h 7 min | 4 h | 1% |
| Thu May 6 | 7 h 3 min | 2 h 8 min | 7 h 1 min | 4 h | 1% |
| Fri May 7 | 6 h 59 min | 1 h 54 min | 5 h 33 min | 2 h 59 min | 3% |
| Sat May 8 | 6 h 55 min | 1 h 38 min | 4 h 16 min | 1 h 44 min | 8% |
| Sun May 9 | 6 h 50 min | 1 h 20 min | 3 h 18 min | 48 min | 16% |
| Mon May 10 | 6 h 46 min | 56 min | 2 h 38 min | 10 min | 25% |
| Tue May 11 | 6 h 42 min | 2 min | 2 h 10 min | 0 min | 36% |
| Wed May 12 | 6 h 38 min | 0 min | 1 h 50 min | 0 min | 47% |
| Thu May 13 | 6 h 34 min | 0 min | 1 h 34 min | 0 min | 59% |
| Fri May 14 | 6 h 30 min | 0 min | 1 h 21 min | 0 min | 69% |
| Sat May 15 | 6 h 26 min | 0 min | 1 h 8 min | 0 min | 79% |
| Sun May 16 | 6 h 22 min | 0 min | 54 min | 0 min | 87% |
| Mon May 17 | 6 h 18 min | 0 min | 39 min | 0 min | 93% |
| Tue May 18 | 6 h 14 min | 0 min | 21 min | 0 min | 97% |
| Wed May 19 | 6 h 11 min | 0 min | 0 min | 0 min | 100% |
| Thu May 20 | 6 h 7 min | 0 min | 7 min | 7 min | 100% |
| Fri May 21 | 6 h 3 min | 0 min | 1 h 11 min | 1 h 11 min | 98% |
| Sat May 22 | 6 h | 0 min | 2 h 1 min | 2 h 1 min | 94% |
| Sun May 23 | 5 h 56 min | 0 min | 2 h 36 min | 2 h 36 min | 89% |
| Mon May 24 | 5 h 53 min | 0 min | 3 h | 3 h | 82% |
| Tue May 25 | 5 h 49 min | 0 min | 3 h 17 min | 3 h 17 min | 74% |
| Wed May 26 | 5 h 46 min | 0 min | 3 h 29 min | 3 h 29 min | 65% |
| Thu May 27 | 5 h 43 min | 0 min | 3 h 39 min | 3 h 39 min | 56% |
| Fri May 28 | 5 h 40 min | 0 min | 3 h 47 min | 3 h 44 min | 46% |
| Sat May 29 | 5 h 37 min | 0 min | 3 h 55 min | 3 h 43 min | 37% |
| Sun May 30 | 5 h 34 min | 0 min | 4 h 4 min | 3 h 41 min | 27% |
| Mon May 31 | 5 h 31 min | 0 min | 4 h 15 min | 3 h 40 min | 18% |
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Ashton-under-Lyne in May?
- On dark, clear nights with enough activity. 31 of 31 nights at Ashton-under-Lyne have civil darkness, and 4% of past May days reached Kp 6.
- How dark is Ashton-under-Lyne in May?
- Ashton-under-Lyne averages 6.4 hours of civil night a night in May 2027, from 7 h 25 min on the 1st to 5 h 31 min on the last night.
- How cloudy is Ashton-under-Lyne in May?
- NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 climatology gives Ashton-under-Lyne's 1 degree cell 72% mean cloud in May, against 77% for the whole year. It is an all-hours average, not a forecast.
- What is the best night in May 2027 for aurora in Ashton-under-Lyne?
- By darkness and moon alone, May 1, with 4 h of moon-free darkness inside 10 PM to 2 AM at Ashton-under-Lyne. Activity on that date will only be known hours ahead.
- Is May or June better in Ashton-under-Lyne?
- By civil night times the clear share, May scores 1.8 hours at Ashton-under-Lyne and June 1.3. May comes out ahead.
Sources and verification
- SunCalchttps://github.com/mourner/suncalc
- NASA POWER climatologyhttps://power.larc.nasa.gov/docs/services/api/temporal/climatology/
- GFZ Potsdam Kp indexhttps://kp.gfz.de/en/data
- 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.