Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Northern lights in Newtownabbey
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
Newtownabbey sits at 54.66N 5.91W in Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. The IGRF-14 centered dipole puts Newtownabbey at 57.3 degrees geomagnetic latitude, 2.7 degrees closer to the magnetic pole than its map latitude suggests. Newtownabbey sits at 57.3 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 Belfast (7 km), Bangor, Northern Ireland (15 km), Newtownards (16 km). Belfast sits 0.1 degrees lower on the dipole and needs the same Kp.
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 Newtownabbey has some civil darkness; the shortest month sample still has 4.6 hours. Every evening of the year at Newtownabbey clears Glow's dark-season bar of 4 hours of civil night between 18:00 and 06:00. Newtownabbey's longest night of the year, Dec 17, has 15 h 8 min of civil night.
Solar midnight at Newtownabbey, when the sun is lowest, falls at 00:19 on local clocks on December 15 and 01:24 on June 15. That is 19 min after midnight in December and 1 h 24 min after midnight in June, the gap set by daylight saving and the equation of time. So at Newtownabbey 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 | 14.6 h | 11.7 h | 81% | 2.8 h | |
| Feb | 12.8 h | 10.1 h | 79% | 2.7 h | |
| Mar | 10.8 h | 8.0 h | 76% | 2.6 h | |
| Apr | 8.4 h | 4.8 h | 72% | 2.4 h | |
| May | 6.2 h | 0.0 h | 70% | 1.9 h | |
| Jun | 4.6 h | 0.0 h | 75% | 1.1 h | |
| Jul | 5.4 h | 0.0 h | 77% | 1.2 h | |
| Aug | 7.6 h | 3.3 h | 76% | 1.8 h | |
| Sep | 10.0 h | 6.9 h | 76% | 2.4 h | |
| Oct | 12.2 h | 9.4 h | 79% | 2.6 h | |
| Nov | 14.1 h | 11.2 h | 80% | 2.8 h | |
| Dec | 15.1 h | 12.1 h | 80% | 3.0 hbest |
By the 15th-of-the-month sample, December is the darkest month at Newtownabbey with 15.1 hours of civil night and June the lightest at 4.6. Across the year Newtownabbey gets 3,702 hours of civil night. Astronomical night at Newtownabbey, 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 Newtownabbey at 77% across the year, from 70% in May to 81% in January. In the months with at least 4 hours of civil night Newtownabbey averages 77%, against a median of 77% for Glow towns in United Kingdom.
Multiplying civil night by the clear share of the sky gives December the best score, 3.0 hours, ahead of November at 2.8. Newtownabbey's equinox months score 2.6 in March and 2.4 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 Newtownabbey, on 10% of days. At Newtownabbey'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 Newtownabbey have at least 2 moon-free dark hours inside 10 PM to 2 AM, and Oct 6 has the most at 4 h. Tonight Newtownabbey has 11 h 14 min of civil night, 1 h 56 min of it with the moon down.
- 2
57% lit
1.9 h
- 3
46% lit
3.3 h
- 4
34% lit
4.8 h
- 5
24% lit
6.4 h
- 6
15% lit
8.0 h
- 7
8% lit
9.4 h
- 8
3% lit
10.9 h
- 9
1% lit
11.7 h
- 10
0% lit
11.8 h
- 11
2% lit
11.9 h
- 12
6% lit
11.9 h
- 13
11% lit
12.0 h
- 14
18% lit
12.1 h
- 15
26% lit
11.4 h
- 16
34% lit
10.6 h
- 17
43% lit
9.5 h
- 18
53% lit
8.2 h
- 19
62% lit
6.9 h
- 20
72% lit
5.6 h
- 21
80% lit
4.3 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
0.8 h
- 30
71% lit
2.1 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 13 Glow towns in Northern Ireland, Newtownabbey ranks 7th by dipole latitude against a regional median of 57.3 degrees; Coleraine sits highest at 57.9. Among the 106 Glow towns in United Kingdom, Newtownabbey ranks 33rd by dipole latitude against a national median of 56.3 degrees; Isle of Lewis sits highest at 60.8. On December 15 Newtownabbey gets 15.1 hours of civil night, 31st longest of 106 in United Kingdom, where the median is 15.0.
Questions
- Can you see the northern lights in Newtownabbey?
- Newtownabbey sits at 57.3 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 Newtownabbey still decides it.
- When is it dark enough in Newtownabbey?
- Every night at Newtownabbey has civil darkness. Tonight has 11 h 14 min, and December 15 has 15.1 hours.
- What is the best month for aurora in Newtownabbey?
- December, by civil night at Newtownabbey times the clear share of the sky from NASA POWER's 2001 to 2020 average.
- How cloudy is Newtownabbey in the dark months?
- About 77% mean cloud amount over Newtownabbey 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 Newtownabbey?
- 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.
- Why does this page point to Belfast?
- Newtownabbey sits within 15 km of Belfast with the same rounded dipole latitude, Kp and dark season, so Glow treats Belfast as the main page for both.
Nearby and related
Nearest Glow towns
Newtownabbey by month
Region and comparisons