Last chance to see Northern Lights tonight as Met Office reveals three best places to view them amid solar storm
TONIGHT is your last chance to see the Northern Lights – with the Met Office revealing the three best places to view them.
The Northern Lights will be visible across parts of the UK again tonight after the rare phenomenon was spotted last week.
Also known as aurora borealis, the bands of pink and green light were seen across the UK and in parts of Europe.
An “extreme” geomagnetic storm made them visible far below the Arctic Circle, US government experts said.
Now the Met Office says the Northern Lights could return at 9pm tonight.
A “red alert” has been issued – meaning the aurora might be visible by eye and camera from anywhere in the UK.
But Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England are the three places with the best chances of a dazzling display.
There is a slight chance that people in north Wales will also get a glimpse of the aurora.
What are the Northern Lights?
AURORA displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth's atmosphere around the magnetic poles.
In the northern hemisphere, most of this activity takes place within a band known as the aurora oval, covering latitudes between 60 and 75 degrees.
When activity is strong, this expands to cover a greater area – which explains why displays can be occasionally seen as far south as the UK.
The visibility of the Northern Lights was increased on Friday because of an “extreme” geomagnetic storm, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The phenomena appears as beautiful dancing green and purple ribbons of light that have captivated people for millennia.
A Met Office spokesman said: “The aurora may become visible perhaps very briefly for parts of northern Scotland.
“Activity is expected to decline through the day with no significant activity expected overnight from May 18 into the 19th.
“So unfortunately there is little to no chance of seeing anything in London tonight.
“There is only a small chance in northern Scotland towards dawn where skies are clear before sunrise.”
The spokesman added: “There is no aurora expected the following night.”
NORTHERN DELIGHTS
The Northern Lights will peter out overnight – but forecasters won’t rule out sightings later this week.
Aurora displays happen when charged particles beamed out from sunspots collide with the Earth’s atmosphere around the poles.
Met Office space expert Krista Hammond said: “We’re currently at solar maximum and we’re seeing more sunspots.
“The sunspot region will be be coming back round onto the Earth facing side of the sun.
“If we see more sunspots, we see this increased frequency in space weather and therefore the aurora.”
Met Office aurora forecast in full
No significant space weather activity is expected on Sunday night into Monday, with aurora sightings unlikely.
An enhancement to the aurora may occur tonight following the possible arrival of a coronal mass ejection that left the sun late on Friday.
Following any CME arrival aurora may become visible, where skies are clear, across parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.
There is a slight chance that views of the aurora may also be possible from northern England and North Wales.
Following this auroral activity is expected to decline, although confidence is lower than usual however.
Some slight enhancement to the aurora at times can’t be ruled out.