Where to see the Northern Lights in the UK tonight as solar storm warning issued
People in many parts of the UK will have get the chance to see a spectacular celestial light show as the Northern Lights make an appearance this weekend.
An intense solar storm will make the luminous technicolour phenomenon easier to see in places it rarely gets a showing.
And there is even a small chance the aurora borealis will be seen throughout the UK.
The best time to view the Northern Lights is typically just before or just after sunrise, with Friday night and Saturday morning expected to give the best views, according to the Met Office.
This particular show is the result of the biggest solar storm to hit Earth in 19 years.
At least four coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the sun will emit large amounts of plasma amid an hugely strong magnetic field.
A solar storm big enough can potentially affect infrastructure on Earth such as power networks and communications.
The Met Office has put out a “space weather” warning – an X-ray radio blackout alert for Friday as a result of the intense solar weather, which could impact radio communications for about an hour.
In the USA, a severe geomagnetic storm alert has been issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – the first since 2005.
It warned the “unusual event” could disrupt GPS satellites, power grids, electronic devices – including mobile phones – and the internet as early as 12pm Eastern Time (5pm UK time).
Where and when can the Northern Lights be seen?
“Where skies are clear and provided dark enough skies, sightings are expected to develop following the CME arrival across the northern half of the UK, with a chance that aurora may become visible to all parts of the UK and similar geomagnetic latitudes,” the Met Office said.
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“Enhanced activity is expected to persist, but at reduced levels through the night 11th into 12th May (Saturday into Sunday). Aurora activity may remain enhanced after this given the potential for further Earth directed CMEs in the coming days.”
While the solar weather will be severe, the terrestrial weather across the UK and Ireland is set to be warm and sunny today and tomorrow morning for most regions.
This is good for viewing the auroras on Friday and Saturday, with the Met Office forecasting clear skies across most of the UK and Ireland just after sunset.
The best viewing weather is expected to be in Scotland and the northern parts of England and Ireland, where the aurora borealis will be most visible.
What are the Northern Lights?
The creation of the aurora borealis begins with sunspots (see black mark on the main image at the top of this story) – massive fields of magnetic pressure on the surface of the Sun.
These erupt as a coronal mass ejection, or CME, as plasma – charged particles is expelled from the Sun. And if that is pointed in the direction of Earth, it sends these charged particles toward our atmosphere. The stream of particles is known as the solar wind.
The charged particles interact with oxygen and nitrogen in Earth’s upper atmosphere to create the many colours of the aurora that give its distinctive appearance.