LIVE · 21 Oct 2026, 17:55 UK

Astrophotography · Ayrshire & Galloway

Croy ShoreCarrick coast, near Culzean · 55.375°N 4.769°W

Dark-ish coast with Arran and Ailsa Craig to the west; good for Milky Way over the sea.

Glentrool Loch Doon Dalmellington Ayr Croy Shore Turnberry Lighthouse Ballantrae Seamill

Tonight

Excellent100

Best window 03:00–04:00

Clear, dark skies expected 03:00–04:00. A great night to shoot the Milky Way and deep-sky targets.

Dark 19:25–06:43 · Moon 79% lit, rises 16:36, sets 01:41

Thursday 22 Oct night

Poor22

No usable window

Unlikely: bright moon up for most of the night.

Dark 19:23–06:44 · Moon 86% lit, rises 16:43, sets 03:02

Friday 23 Oct night

Fair44

Best window 21:00–00:00

Some chances 21:00–00:00, held back by bright moon up. Be ready to move.

Dark 19:20–06:46 · Moon 93% lit, rises 16:51, sets 04:24

Saturday 24 Oct night

No chance0

No usable window

Unlikely: mid-level cloud, bright moon up, rain, windy for most of the night.

Dark 19:18–05:48 · Moon 97% lit, rises 16:58, sets 05:49

Hour by hour · Croy Shore

Fully darkAstro twilightCloud (paler = more)Moon height, % litScore ≥70≥50≥30

S = seeing, T = transparency, from 7Timer ASTRO (1 best, 8 worst; 3-hourly, coarse model). Not used in the score.

Aurora tonight

Kp 4.7 max forecast

Slight: camera only, very dark northern horizon Clear skies to the north matter most; the coast spots and Loch Doon have the best northern views.

AuroraWatch UK: No significant activity · 17:51 UK

We 13

We 16

We 19

We 22

Th 01

Th 04

Th 07

Th 10

Th 13

Th 16

Th 19

Th 22

Fr 01

Fr 04

Fr 07

Fr 10

Kp: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center 3-day forecast (3-hourly; faded bars are observed). Status: AuroraWatch UK, Lancaster University.

How the score works

Each hour gets a score from 0 to 100. We start at 100 and multiply by:

Cloud: (1 − low) × (1 − 0.9 × mid) × (1 − 0.6 × high). Low cloud blocks everything; thin high cloud only dims the sky.
Darkness: 1 when the Sun is more than 18° below the horizon, 0.6 in astronomical twilight (12–18°), 0 before that.
Moon: up to −60% when a bright Moon is high; no penalty when it has set.
Rain: 0 if 0.1 mm or more is forecast.
Visibility: 0.3 under 2 km (fog), 0.75 under 8 km (haze).
Dew / fog risk: 0.85 when the air is within 2 °C of its dew point or humidity is 95%+. Bring a lens heater.
Wind: 0.85 above 15 mph and 0.6 above 25 mph (tripod shake).

Excellent is 70+, Good 50+, Fair 30+, Poor 10+. The best window is the run of hours within 15 points of the night’s best. Aurora and 7Timer seeing are shown separately and are not in the score.

Weather: Open-Meteo best match (Met Office UKV, ECMWF), hourly, fetched 17:55 UK. Sun and Moon: calculated with SunCalc. Seeing/transparency: 7Timer ASTRO. Times are UK local.

WISPAYR·WEATHER

LIVE · 21 Oct 2026, 17:55 UK

Astrophotography · Ayrshire & Galloway

Croy ShoreCarrick coast, near Culzean · 55.375°N 4.769°W

Dark-ish coast with Arran and Ailsa Craig to the west; good for Milky Way over the sea.

Glentrool Loch Doon Dalmellington Ayr Croy Shore Turnberry Lighthouse Ballantrae Seamill

Tonight

Excellent100

Best window 03:00–04:00

Clear, dark skies expected 03:00–04:00. A great night to shoot the Milky Way and deep-sky targets.

Dark 19:25–06:43 · Moon 79% lit, rises 16:36, sets 01:41

Thursday 22 Oct night

Poor22

No usable window

Unlikely: bright moon up for most of the night.

Dark 19:23–06:44 · Moon 86% lit, rises 16:43, sets 03:02

Friday 23 Oct night

Fair44

Best window 21:00–00:00

Some chances 21:00–00:00, held back by bright moon up. Be ready to move.

Dark 19:20–06:46 · Moon 93% lit, rises 16:51, sets 04:24

Saturday 24 Oct night

No chance0

No usable window

Unlikely: mid-level cloud, bright moon up, rain, windy for most of the night.

Dark 19:18–05:48 · Moon 97% lit, rises 16:58, sets 05:49

Hour by hour · Croy Shore

Fully darkAstro twilightCloud (paler = more)Moon height, % litScore ≥70≥50≥30

S = seeing, T = transparency, from 7Timer ASTRO (1 best, 8 worst; 3-hourly, coarse model). Not used in the score.

Aurora tonight

Kp 4.7 max forecast

Slight: camera only, very dark northern horizon Clear skies to the north matter most; the coast spots and Loch Doon have the best northern views.

AuroraWatch UK: No significant activity · 17:51 UK

We 13

We 16

We 19

We 22

Th 01

Th 04

Th 07

Th 10

Th 13

Th 16

Th 19

Th 22

Fr 01

Fr 04

Fr 07

Fr 10

Kp: NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center 3-day forecast (3-hourly; faded bars are observed). Status: AuroraWatch UK, Lancaster University.

How the score works

Each hour gets a score from 0 to 100. We start at 100 and multiply by:

Cloud: (1 − low) × (1 − 0.9 × mid) × (1 − 0.6 × high). Low cloud blocks everything; thin high cloud only dims the sky.
Darkness: 1 when the Sun is more than 18° below the horizon, 0.6 in astronomical twilight (12–18°), 0 before that.
Moon: up to −60% when a bright Moon is high; no penalty when it has set.
Rain: 0 if 0.1 mm or more is forecast.
Visibility: 0.3 under 2 km (fog), 0.75 under 8 km (haze).
Dew / fog risk: 0.85 when the air is within 2 °C of its dew point or humidity is 95%+. Bring a lens heater.
Wind: 0.85 above 15 mph and 0.6 above 25 mph (tripod shake).

Excellent is 70+, Good 50+, Fair 30+, Poor 10+. The best window is the run of hours within 15 points of the night’s best. Aurora and 7Timer seeing are shown separately and are not in the score.

Weather: Open-Meteo best match (Met Office UKV, ECMWF), hourly, fetched 17:55 UK. Sun and Moon: calculated with SunCalc. Seeing/transparency: 7Timer ASTRO. Times are UK local.