Suffolk among UK’s top 5 hotspots for watching celestial events

Cotswold Outdoor look into the best UK locations for indulging in all space phenomena the cosmos have to offer

● Suffolk has ranked as the fifth best county for watching celestial night-sky events, largely owed to its lower average precipitation and good number of observatories.
● Yorkshire tops list of best UK counties to head to for best guarantee of a good night’s show. The county register the most unique locations where the Northern Lights have been sighted.
● Devon has ranked second, also boasting a great choice in dark-sky locations, whilst Kent ranks third best in light of its wealth in observatories. Somerset places fourth.
● The colder seasons are peak time to witness celestial events, as demonstrated throughout the rest of 2022 (November and December), which will see 44 cosmo events happening

Known for complaining about the weather in under 30 seconds into any given conversation, Brits are often self-deprecating about the UK’s northern climate. But we musn’t forget the perks of living this far north, such as top views of what the cosmos have to offer. Not only do northern European countries get the best views of the famous and illusive Aurora Borealis, but it is also known that Nordic air makes for clearer skies for watching the night sky.
Cotswold Outdoor’s latest study analyses geographical factors that influence optimum conditions for asteroid spotting, star gazing and watching other night sky ‘shows’. Combining northern light sightings, average precipitation (cloud cover), observatories, dark sky locations, camping grounds and space phenomena-watching events, the outdoor specialists have named the UK counties that
play ‘best host’ for indulging in some space phenomena.

Suffolk ranks as the UK’s fifth best county for watching celestial events, largely owed to its lower average precipitation and good number of observatories.
Recording an annual average of 47.4mm precipitation, Suffolk ranks as the UK’s second driest county, beaten only by Cambridgeshire, meaning not only are you less likely to deal with soggy tents and ruined equiment but your view is also less likely to be interrupted by cloud when watching the nights sky in Suffolk.
The county also offers three different observatories and plans to host 31 night-sky watching events to prospective astronomy lovers (May-Dec 2022). When it comes to outdoor spaces to watch from Suffolk boasts 70 different camping grounds in which one can spend the night under the stars, however if you’re after dark-sky locations ( least affected by light pollution), Suffolk offers four in total.
Yorkshire ranks as the top area for watching celestial events. The county registers the highest number of unique locations from which the Northern Lights have been sighted (4) and also
boasts the best choice of observatories and most dark-sky locations in the UK.
Ranking second is the county of Devon. Though sighting of the Aurora Borealis has never 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 as it boasts the UK’s third best choice of observatories, offering five in total. As far as events on offer, the county ranks eleventh to, with 71 on offer until the end of 2022.
Looking over an astronomy event calendar (incl. meteor showers, eclipses and the intersecting of planets, stars and the moon) Cotswold Outdoor’s research identifies the richest months in
‘viewworthy’ cosmo events. December is the busiest winter month when it comes to celestial events, counting 23 events in total, whilst November will bring us a total of 21 events to witness.
If catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights is your goal, following Yorkshire, your next best bet is to head to either Northumberland, Lancashire or Banffshire, Scotland. Whilst Northumberland is home to three locations where the illusive Aurora Borealis have been spotted before, Lancashire and Banffshire both have registered two locations each.