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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25/09/21
18° 5% -
25/09/21
18° 4% -
26/09/21
17° 7% -
26/09/21
17° 5%
Weather forecast for Whitley Bay (beach) (1.5 miles away) updated 25/09/21 at 16:00.
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.
Sat 25th Sep
Sun 26th Sep
Mon 27th Sep
Tue 28th Sep
Wed 29th Sep
Thu 30th Sep
Fri 1st Oct
Find more dates
If you are planning to visit this location check our dark sky calendar to find out when is best!
Calendar