Scotland, United Kingdom
Northern lights in Ayr
Answer
Tonight
Waiting on darkness
It is not civil-dark yet. The next dusk is listed below.
Observed 11:49 UTC, forecast 13:20 UTC, 91 min lead
Clock times in Europe/London
Storm level needed
Ayr sits at 55.46N 4.63W in Scotland, United Kingdom. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Ayr at 57.9 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 2.4 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Ayr sits at 57.9 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 5, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less.
"aurora is commonly visible at high latitudes (northern Michigan and Maine)"
The nearest other Glow towns are Kilmarnock (19 km), Johnstone (41 km), Meikle Earnock (49 km). Kilmarnock sits 0.1 degrees higher on the dipole, Kp 4 against 5 here.
Approximate: SWPC calls its Kp to latitude rule an average, and a centered dipole can differ by a degree from fuller field models. How the storm level is matched
The year in darkness
Every night of 2026 at Ayr has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 4.3 hours. Every evening of the year at Ayr clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. Ayr's longest night of the year, Dec 17, has 15 h 15 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Ayr, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:14 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:19 on June 15. That is 14 min after midnight in December and 1 h 19 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Ayr the darkest hour sits near the middle of SWPC's 10 PM to 2 AM window in winter.
Month by month
| Month | Night | Civil | Cloud | Clear dark | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 14.7 h | 11.7 h | 80% | 2.9 h | |
| Feb | 12.9 h | 10.1 h | 76% | 3.1 h | |
| Mar | 10.8 h | 7.9 h | 75% | 2.7 h | |
| Apr | 8.3 h | 4.6 h | 71% | 2.4 h | |
| May | 5.9 h | 0.0 h | 71% | 1.7 h | |
| Jun | 4.3 h | 0.0 h | 79% | 0.9 h | |
| Jul | 5.1 h | 0.0 h | 79% | 1.1 h | |
| Aug | 7.5 h | 2.8 h | 78% | 1.6 h | |
| Sep | 9.9 h | 6.8 h | 75% | 2.5 h | |
| Oct | 12.2 h | 9.3 h | 76% | 2.9 h | |
| Nov | 14.2 h | 11.3 h | 76% | 3.4 hbest | |
| Dec | 15.2 h | 12.1 h | 78% | 3.3 h |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Ayr with 15.2 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 4.3. Across the year Ayr gets 3,680 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Ayr, the sun 18 degrees or more below the horizon, lasts 12.1 hours on December 15.
NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology puts mean cloud amount for the 1 degree cell around Ayr at 76% across the year, from 71% in April to 80% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Ayr averages 76%, against a median of 77% for Glow towns in United Kingdom.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives November the best score, 3.4 hours, ahead of December at 3.3. Ayr's equinox months score 2.7 in March and 2.5 in September, the weeks SWPC links with larger storms.
Kp history
From 1996 to 2025, the GFZ Potsdam record shows a 3-hour Kp of 5 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge over Ayr, on 10% of days. At Ayr's level the share runs from 5% in December to 14% in September, while storm days with Kp 5 or more made up 10%.
Share of UTC days in each calendar month whose highest 3-hour Kp reached Kp 5. Kp history by year
Moon, next 30 nights
Over the 30 nights from Oct 2, the new moon falls on Oct 10 and the full moon on Oct 26, in Europe/London dates. 15 of the 30 nights at Ayr have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Ayr has 11 h 14 min of civil night, 1 h 47 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
57% lit
1.8 h
- 3
46% lit
3.2 h
- 4
34% lit
4.8 h
- 5
24% lit
6.4 h
- 6
15% lit
7.9 h
- 7
8% lit
9.4 h
- 8
3% lit
10.9 h
- 9
1% lit
11.8 h
- 10
0% lit
11.8 h
- 11
2% lit
11.9 h
- 12
6% lit
12.0 h
- 13
11% lit
12.0 h
- 14
18% lit
12.1 h
- 15
26% lit
11.6 h
- 16
34% lit
10.7 h
- 17
43% lit
9.6 h
- 18
53% lit
8.3 h
- 19
62% lit
7.0 h
- 20
72% lit
5.7 h
- 21
80% lit
4.4 h
- 22
88% lit
3.0 h
- 23
94% lit
1.6 h
- 24
98% lit
0.2 h
- 25
100% lit
0.0 h
- 26
99% lit
0.0 h
- 27
95% lit
0.0 h
- 28
89% lit
0.0 h
- 29
81% lit
0.7 h
- 30
71% lit
2.0 h
- 31
60% lit
3.6 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.
Within United Kingdom
Among the 26 Glow towns in Scotland, Ayr ranks 25th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 58.3 degrees; Isle of Lewis sits highest at 60.8. Among the 105 Glow towns in United Kingdom, Ayr ranks 26th by dipole latitude against a national median of 56.3 degrees; Isle of Lewis sits highest at 60.8. On December 15 Ayr gets 15.2 hours of civil night, 25th longest of 105 in United Kingdom, where the median is 15.0.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Ayr?
- Ayr sits at 57.9 degrees geomagnetic. By SWPC's rule the average oval edge is overhead at Kp 5, and aurora is usually visible on the northern horizon at G1 (Kp 5) or less. Clear, dark sky over Ayr still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Ayr?
- Every night at Ayr has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 14 min, and December 15 has 15.2 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Ayr?
- November, by civil night at Ayr times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Ayr in the dark months?
- About 76% mean cloud amount over Ayr in the months with at least 4 hours of civil night, from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 all-hours climatology.
- How often is activity high enough for Ayr?
- A 3-hour Kp of 5 or more, the level that puts the average oval edge overhead, occurred on 10% of days from 1996 to 2025 in the GFZ Potsdam record.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Ayr by month
Region and comparisons