Watching the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, is something most of us have very high on our bucket list. Only a few, relatively speaking, have actually been lucky enough to see the Aurora in its full glory. Due to the fact that the Aurora Borealis is a natural phenomenon taking place over the Arctic regions of the world, it’s also logical that the more north you are the more chance you have to actually witness it. The Aurora is triggered by collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun, due to flares on the sun’s surface, that enter the earth’s atmosphere. The resulting strength of the Aurora depends on the power of the solar flares and the angle relative to the earth. There’s a lot more at work here of course but these are the basics.
Related info
Scottish Weather and Climate
Daylight Hours – Annual Calendar of Sunsrise and Sunset Times
Solar flares and possible Aurora’s occur throughout the year but in the summer it is simply not getting dark enough to be able to witness it. The winter is therefore the best period for the Northern Lights, roughly from early October to end of March. By the way, if you’re in Shetland the Northern Lights are also referred as Mirrie Dancers.
Chasing the Northern Lights in Scotland
More and more folk book expensive trips and travel from all over the world to Iceland, Alaska, Norway or Finland for instance to try and get a glimpse of the Aurora and to hopefully take a few pictures. These trips however don’t guarantee success as the Aurora is somewhat unpredictable, after all it depends on solar activity. So before you spend all your money on an expensive trip north you might want to consider staying closer to home where the chances of an Aurora might be somewhat slimmer than in Alaska, but where you still have a fairly decent chance of seeing them. So how about chasing the Northern Lights in Scotland? I myself live in the south west of Scotland and have seen the Aurora several times from close to my home and a few times from the north-west of Scotland. And I could have seen it more often if only I hadn’t been so lazy when I went to bed instead of staying up and going outside to watch the lights.
How do you know there is an Aurora expected?
In order to be able to watch the Aurora a few conditions have to be met. First of all the Aurora has to be active, I’ll let you know later on how to find that out. Second of all it has to be an almost cloudless night. It’s also important not to have full moon. You also have to be in a very dark place with as little light pollution as possible and you need to have a clear horizon towards the north as that’s where you are likely to see it first before eventually it becomes strong enough to see it overhead, that is if you’re lucky!
Aurora Alerts
To find out if there is an Aurora expected, or happening right now, make sure to be prepared properly. The first thing you need is to be able to receive alerts when there are chances of seeing the Northern Lights. For an excellent resource with email alerts please visit www.aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk. Another, more comprehensive website with alerts, live information and maps, is www.softservenews.com. On the latter you will also read about KP numbers which say something about the strength of the Aurora. KP Numbers can be between 0 and 9 and indicate the most southerly latitude where the Aurora can be seen. So an Aurora with KP3 might be visible as far south as the middle of Norway where KP5 might be visible as far south as the north of Scotland. KP9 can potentially be visible as far south as the south of England.
An Aurora alert from www.aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk looks like this:
Amber alert: possible aurora.
Aurora is likely to be visible by eye from Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland; possibly visible from elsewhere in the UK. Photographs of aurora are likely from anywhere in the UK. Viewing aurora requires clear, dark skies away from light pollution. To monitor current activity see http://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk.”
Aurora Smartphone Apps
Getting to a good location
Seeing and Recognising the Aurora
Now that we have the alerts covered it’s time to get prepared to go out and actually try and see the Aurora. If you have mobile data coverage in the location where you are planning to watch the Aurora you can follow live alerts via email and twitter. Unfortunately it’s my experience that the places which are the darkest and most remote are lacking just that so you have to rely on eyesight as well as have a LOT of patience.
The start of the Aurora can come sudden or can gradually build up. I’ve seen on several occasions a whitish arch on the northern horizon which later seemed to climb higher and resulted in a visible Aurora KP 6. I’ve also seen grey and whitish curtains hanging in the sky which suddenly started to blink and turned greenish, that was KP 7. Most times however I’ve seen a distant green glow on the Northern Horizon of Aurora’s with a KP number of 4 or 5.
What you See is NOT always what you Get
I must admit that I, like many others, haven’t seen the bright green, purple and red colours of the Aurora with the naked eye the same as my camera did record them. For that to happen the Aurora needs to be much stronger to actually witness more than a green glow and greyish mist with the naked eye. That’s something I’d love to see as well.
How to photograph the Aurora
I don’t think there is one fixed rule for photographing the Aurora. What you definitely need is a sturdy tripod, a DSLR with a wide angle lens of at least 35mm, the knowledge to focus your camera in the dark, which is not always easy but Live View and a bright star can help here, and a tool to remotely release the shutter to avoid camera shake. The settings below are a guideline and will vary depending on type of camera and lens.
Set the ISO to 1600
Set the camera to M for manual
Set the lens to the widest aperture f2.8 or f4.0
Use a shutter speed of 15 seconds to start with.
Check the photos in the viewer and play around with some of the settings if you have under or over exposure. You’ll be surprised of the stunning colours in your viewer compared to what you see with the naked eye.
I hope the information I’ve provided here will help you to see the Aurora Borealis yourself. I’m in no way an expert in Aurora watching, neither am I an expert in Aurora photography. I’m just a passionate photographer with a great interest in the natural world around us and a particular interest in what must be one of the worlds most spectacular phenomenons, the Northern Lights.
HAPPY AURORA HUNTING 🙂
Hi! This is a really great post, very informative! Are there any aurora hunting tours in Scotland? I tried Googling but nothing came up..
Not that I’m aware of but that could change soon of course. Hopefully the blog post provided enough info to go out on your own 🙂 And when tours do become available we will update our info too 🙂
Yes there are tours.
Caledonian travel
Tartan travel
There is also a northern lights flight from Glasgow or Edinburgh Airport
Great post! I’ll definitely go Aurora hunting next time I’m in Scotland!
Hi Ron,
after reading your great post, I have decided to travel to Scotland, and if we are lucky we will see Aurora Borealis.
Our trip will be in February, What area do you advise me to stay in order to have a better chance of seeing it ?. Thank you so much for everything.
Maria.
We were planning a trip to Finland/Iceland to see the northern lights (long story) but the prices for just a ridiculous. Someone said about seeing them in Scotland. We’re coming at the beginning of February with 2 nights in Edinburgh and hope to travel around weather depending. I know it’s a natural thing and nothing is guaranteed but can you tell me they can be seen and where’s best. Many Thanks
Although there are chances of seeing the lights as far south as the North of England, I would say go as far north as possible (Sutherland, Caithness) and search for really dark places without light pollution and uninterrupted views north. And like you said, fingers crossed for clear skies and the Aurora. I really hope you’ll be able to see them and hopefully you can let us know if you have succeeded 🙂
So is there next to no chance of seeing them in the summer? the tail end of August? Just trying to plan next years holiday, and due to term times, would ideally like to RV it around the north coast.
Chances are very slim indeed but not impossible. From October/November onwards it will be better…
I am thinking of coming up end of December in to January’19 . Any thoughts on where best to stay / head to for best change and ease of travelling by car . Thanks Helen
I would say any place which is dark enough, has no light pollution and has a good view of the northern horizon will do. If you’re planning something you might want to skip the days with full moon 🙂
Are there organized tours where we can be driven out to an area to see the northern lights? We are going to be in Edinburgh on 10/8 and 10/9. If so, are the tours overnight or could we drive out for one night and then go back to Edinburgh. I’ve seen so many conflicting things on this. Thank you for your help!
Hi Joanne, I’m personally not aware of any organized northern lights tours, especially not from Edinburgh. If you do happen to find one please let me know ok? Thanks! Enjoy your trip 🙂
Hi Ron. I will be in Aberdeen with a friend at the end of November and we would like to try and see the lights. Where do you suggest we go? I am also trying to find a tour guide to take us. Do you know anyone? Thanks.
Hi Flavia, if I was to pick a good spot I’d try it between Fraserburgh and Macduff. There are many very dark places there with excellent uninterrupted views towards the North. Another nice spot could be Slains Castle north of Cruden Bay as it’s in a very dark spot as well. I don’t know any guides in that area I’m afraid. I hope this helps!
Hi
I’m stayein Edinburgh 17th-20th Feb 2019……can you plz recommend the best spot for viewing the aurora….. Perhaps I will. Be able to travel for an hours worth.. Distance wise from Edinburgh.
Many thanks lisa
Hi Lisa, best to head in the direction of North Berwick, plenty of Dark places there with a good view towards the North. Good luck 🙂
Hi
My partner and I are travelling to Nairn in February. Is there anywhere close that you would recommend for seeing the Northern lights?
Many thanks
Tracy
Hi Tracy, outside Nairn is a dune area which is very dark. I’m sure you would be able to see the lights from there when they occur as you have a good view towards the North! Fingers crossed 🙂
Hi
We’re from Barcelona and we will travel to Scotland from 25 december to 30 december. Which is the best place to stay for seeing Northern light??? Inverness….Skye..Thurso.
It’s possible to book a local guide for searching them?
thanks
Hi Teresa, I would say Thurso, the further north the better. But you don’t get guarantees! Sometimes you won’t see anything for weeks and this year has been particularly quiet.
Hi I’m looking to book a trip for my mum and dad to Edinburgh in November and they also want to try and see the northern lights!! Anywhere near Edinburgh they could go?! Can’t find any tours!!
Would Fife be good or north Berwick?
Thank you
Hi Sarah, North Berwick seems a great location to me, especially if you find a dark spot somewhere along the coastline, perhaps towards Tantallon Castle! I don’t think there are any “Northern Light Tours” as they don’t happen that frequently. You just have to be lucky enough to have the right conditions. Hope this helps!
We are coming to Scotland for last 3 weeks in September middle week we’ll be in Wick…last week on Mull…A bit early I know but do you think we’ll stand a chance to see the Aurora in Wick?…any actual best place to head for in the immediate area?
Hi Sue, it won’t be easy to see the Aurora end of September as nights are still relatively short but it’s not impossible. Check out the apps in the article to find out if there is a chance and if there is find a very dark place, shouldn’t be a problem in Wick 🙂
Hi we are staying in navidale ,any ideas of where would be best place to go to attempt to see Norther n lights?
Hi Janine, all you basically need is a clear view north, preferably from a hill, on a very dark place. I’m sure where you are staying there will be plenty of very dark places as you drive into the countryside. I’ve seen wonderful northern lights from a lay-bay on a single track road at an elevated position looking north. Most important is to stay up to date on the forecasts, the apps I’ve mentioned are very useful! Good luck 🙂
Hi there,
We have a campsite in the Bays of South Harris called Lickisto Blackhouse Camping and are running Aurora Borealis hunting trips from here. The Solar minimum has just ended and they are becoming more and more frequent…..4 nights out of the last 7!
The accomodation options range from Glamping in Yurts, Bell tents or a Bothy all with log fires to tent pitches and electric hook up for campervans. (pick up from Stornoway airport or any ferry terminal also possible)
We lay on a minibus with up to the moment information on the night, a nourishing soup, hot toddys, portable fire and secret locations that are as idyllic as they are ideal to view the magic of the Northern Lights.
I hope this may be of help to some of the people and I would like to thank you for your very informative post.
Kind regards
Jo and Greig
Hi Jo, thanks for the additional info, this is very useful for our readers! Great location for Aurora hunting 🙂