The display of the Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis, is the latest spectacular in recent solar activity, happening because the sun is near the peak of its current 11-year cycle
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Sightings of the Northern Lights are likely tonight across parts of Britain, the Met Office says.
The meteorologists have issued a striking graphic, which shows the probabilities of catching a glimpse of the latest aurora borealis across the UK. As often the case, those living in Scotland and Northern Ireland are most likely to witness the display, with optimum conditions expected at around midnight.
Skies will generally be clear too, further enhancing chances to enjoy the dazzling aurora. Even those further south may still enjoy the Northern Lights this evening, the Met Office points out.
“Look north in the coming nights and you may spot the #NorthernLights. A coronal mass ejection from the sun is earth bound and whilst there’s some uncertainty on its arrival time, sightings of the #aurora are likely in northern areas with a slight chance in the south too,” a Met Office post on X, formerly Twitter, reads this afternoon.
The graphic, published by the Mirror as a video above, highlights the probability of seeing the aurora borealis will be near 100% for those across the Shetland Islands and the northern tip of mainland Scotland.
It’s around 50% across Scottish Highlands and the tip of Northern Ireland, and less likely – but still viable – further south. The Met Office says it’ll be rainy across parts of Scotland tonight but “largely dry elsewhere, with lengthy clear spells”. Clouds typically hinder the chances of seeing the Northern Lights.
Writing on its website, the Met Office says: “The Northern Lights occur as a consequence of solar activity and result from collisions of charged particles in the solar wind colliding with molecules in the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
“Solar winds are charged particles that stream away from the Sun at speeds of around one million miles per hour. When the magnetic polarity of the solar wind is opposite to the Earth’s magnetic field, the two magnetic fields combine allowing these energetic particles to flow into the Earth’s magnetic north and south poles.
“Auroras usually occur in a band called the annulus (a ring about 1,865 miles across) centred on the magnetic pole. The arrival of a Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) from the Sun can cause the annulus to expand, bringing the aurora to lower latitudes. It is under these circumstances that the lights can be seen in the UK.”