The UK’s top hotspots for night-sky watching have been revealed as Yorkshire, Devon and Kent. A study by Cotswold Outdoor analysed contributing geographical factors including northern light sightings, cloud cover, observatories, dark sky locations, camping grounds and space phenomena-watching events.
These factors influence optimum conditions for asteroid spotting, star gazing and watching other night sky ‘shows’.
Yorkshire leading the way
Cotswold Outdoor found that Yorkshire had the highest number of observatories, the most dark-sky locations and the greatest variety of unique Northern Lights Viewpoints, culminating in the county’s overall ranking as the best place in the UK for night-sky watching.
Yorkshire also performed well on other measures, placing third for camping facilities and lowest average precipitation and second for night sky watching events, with 78 set to have taken place in Yorkshire by the end of the year. While this study found Yorkshire to be less wet and cloudy than we might expect, the average temperature is lower than some of the country’s other stargazing hotspots.
The runners up
Devon and Kent placed second and third, with Somerset and Sussex coming fourth and fifth respectively, completing the top five places in the UK for night-sky watching.
Ranking second overall was Devon. Although it has a higher average of rain (cloud) per year, it is second richest in dark-sky locations, thanks to the its lower levels of light pollution. Though no sightings of the northern lights have ever been registered in Devon, the county is the UK’s third best host of events for night sky watching and boasts the fourth best choice of camping grounds.
Kent ranks third overall, largely because it boasts the UK’s third best choice of observatories, with five in total. If you’re also hoping to get milder weather when going out to watch the night sky, Kent has the UK’s third mildest temperatures on average, posing a more comfortable experience when out watching meteors and gazing at stars.
When and where to see the stars
Across the country, December is shaping up to be the most ‘viewworthy’ month we have to look forward to between now and the end of the year. There are expected to be with 23 cosmo events in December, including meteor showers, eclipses and the intersecting of planets, stars and the moon, due to take place. There are expected to be 43 throughout October and November.
As much as we can complain about the cold nights at this time of year, Northern European countries like the UK do get the best views of the Northern Lights and the Nordic air makes for clearer skies to stargaze.
If you want to find out what your county’s night sky has to offer, you can use Cotswold Outdoor’s Best Night Shows interactive tool.
