Northern lights in York tonight

Elevated moorland on the western escarpment of the North York Moors. The ridge above Sutton Bank and Kilburn gives open northern sky with the Vale of York spread below and only field lighting to the south. Roseberry Topping further north-east adds dramatic topography with near-zero light pollution on its northern slopes. Both are accessible from the A170 and give the best combination of elevation and north-facing sky within an hour of York.

A Dark Sky Discovery Site on the limestone plateau north of Skipton. The Malham Cove area gives open sky in all directions from the top of the limestone pavement, with the nearest town lighting well below the escarpment. Upper Wharfedale around Grassington and Kilnsey is equally dark with Bortle 2-3 conditions in the upper valley. The drive from York via the A59 and B6160 takes around an hour, with the darkness increasing markedly above Grassington.

A flat heathland nature reserve 12 km south-east of York, surprisingly dark for its proximity to a city of 200,000. The open heathland gives a wide north-facing sky with the glow of York visible only as a low dome to the north-west. Not suitable for faint Kp 5 events, but the closest genuinely dark position to the city - worth trying when Kp is elevated at 6 or above before committing to the longer drive to the Moors or Dales.