The Met Office has revealed the parts of the UK that could witness the Northern Lights tonight and intense solar activity may mean the lights are visible more often this year
Brits could be in for some beautiful light displays in areas of the UK tonight with the Northern Lights potentially making an appearance.
Weather experts at the Met Office revealed that there could be some displays in the north of Scotland on Sunday night. Stephen Dixon from the Met Office said before this weekend that Sunday could bring “further potential sightings” before easing to background levels through Monday and Tuesday.
Mr Dixon also stressed that the weather will play a part, with areas where there is cloud cover potentially blocking the lights from view. He said: “There’s a chance of some aurora visibility in the north of Scotland on Saturday night thanks to a solar wind connecting with Earth.
“There will be breaks in the cloud in the area, increasing the chances of a sighting for those in the area. There’s a possibility of further potential sightings on Sunday night in the north of Scotland, though there’s some uncertainty on this at the moment and further cloud could obscure viewing potential.”
Met Office meteorologist Zoe Hutin said there is a “heightened chance” of seeing them due to the low cloud coverage and clear skies in Scotland. She said the movement of solar winds around the sun at this time is leading to the “enhanced possibility of a sighting”.
“The further north you are, the more likely the chances are that you will be able to see them,” she said. They are more easy to see on cameras, so pictures often come up a little bit more clearly than by the naked eye and this is just because of the type of beam that it is.”
Today, the Met Office said that most of the country will be Sunday, but that there is a “contrast in the far north of Scotland with persistent rain”. The weather service added: As we welcome in the new week, we start to see a change in the very warm and dry conditions of late.
“A spell of rain will move south across the country on Monday, bringing a few wintry showers in the north/northeast. By Tuesday, we’ll start to see temperatures drop to below average across the UK. Rural spots in Scotland could see -4°C on Tuesday night, with a daytime maximum temperatures typically between 5-8C.”
The sun has now entered its period of greatest activity, which means Britons could be seeing more colourful displays of the aurora borealis until the middle of the year.
The sun goes through an 11-year solar cycle, with periods of intense activity followed by a quiet phase. During its active bursts, also known as solar maximum, the sun releases charged particles that travel through space at speeds of around one million miles per hour.
Some of the particles are captured by the Earth’s magnetic field and collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms and molecules in the atmosphere. These atoms and molecules then shed the energy they gained from the collision, emitting light at various wavelengths to create colourful displays in the night sky.
According to NASA, oxygen emits either a greenish-yellow light – which is the most familiar colour of the aurora – or a red light, while nitrogen generally gives off a blue light. The oxygen and nitrogen molecules also emit ultraviolet light, which can only be detected by special cameras on satellites.
