This car park is a favourite place for aurora spotters in the North East! Being within easy travel distance from Newcastle and South Shields the location is away from the worst of nearby light pollution with clear views towards the North and North-East across the sea. Photo by David Darlington.
Weather forecast
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08/08/22
18° 1% -
08/08/22
17° 0% -
09/08/22
15° 0% -
09/08/22
14° 0%
Weather forecast for Whitley Bay (beach) (1.5 miles away) updated 07/08/22 at 20:00.
Local light pollution
St Mary's Island Car Park is estimated to have light pollution levels similar to asuburban suburban location based on data from the VIIRS satellite.
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Urban
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Suburban
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Semi-rural
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Rural
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Dark site
The above demonstrates the estimated effect of light pollution - graphics created using Stellarium.
Best time to visit
The below chart shows when the skies will be at their darkest at this location and therefore the best time to visit. Moonlight is shown in light yellow and the Sun's twilight in light blue. Midnight on the date shown is shown as a white line with sunset to the left and sunrise the next morning to the right. A black background with stars shows the best times for stargazing. See our dark sky calendar for more details.
Mon 8th Aug
Tue 9th Aug
Wed 10th Aug
Thu 11th Aug
Fri 12th Aug
Sat 13th Aug
Sun 14th Aug
Find more dates
If you are planning to visit this location check our dark sky calendar to find out when is best!
Calendar