Met Office says Northern Lights could be seen in UK as 'enhancement in solar activity' expected
Parts of Scotland and northern England could see the rare phenomenon
The Met Office was predicted that there could be another chance to see the aurora tonight in parts of northern England and Scotland as a "enhancement in solar activity" is expected later today (Sunday, March 23).
Aurora Borealis was spotted in the UK multiple times during 2024, which seems to be happening more and more often in this country. Now, there might be another chance to see the pretty phenomenon.
The Met Office wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: "There is an expected enhancement in solar activity later on today, lasting overnight. This could mean that there will be another chance to see the aurora tonight, where clear spells develop across Scotland and perhaps parts of northern England."
The UK weather agency issues regular space weather forecasts for both the northern and southern hemisphere. For the northern hemisphere, which is the half of the Earth that lies north of the equator, a "coronal mass ejection" is expected to arrive tonight.
The prediction reads: "This will likely bring visible aurora to Scotland and perhaps parts of Northern England Sunday night where skies are clear. There is a continuing chance of aurora sightings at times across northern Scotland this coming week, given clear night-time skies.
"This is due to further possible weak coronal mass ejections glances, along with another faster stream of solar winds arriving later mid-week."
What causes the Northern Lights?
The Northern Lights are caused by large explosions of activity from the Sun, which throw out huge amounts of charged particles – called solar wind – into space. Massive explosions on the Sun are known as 'coronal mass ejections', according to the Greenwich Royal Observatory.
These particles stream away from the Sun at around one million miles per hour, the Met Office says. When they are captured by the Earth's magnetic field they can collide with gas molecules in the atmosphere in an event called a geomagnetic storm.
Light is emitted from these collisions at various wavelengths, forming spectacular colourful displays in the sky. The Northern Lights extend from 50 miles to as high as 400 miles above the Earth's surface, according to the Met Office.
Why are the aurora borealis happening so often?
The Northern Lights are influenced by the Sun's solar activity. According to NASA, the solar cycle transitions between low and high magnetic activity and, roughly every 11 years, the Sun transitions from a calm to an active and stormy state. NASA tracks sunspots to predict the solar cycle, which are visibly action regions on the Sun that are the source of solar eruptions.
We are currently near the peak of the 11-year solar cycle, known as the 'solar maximum' according to the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). Sunspots, flares and coronal mass ejections all become more rampant during the solar maximum, the RAS says.
The higher the geomagnetic activity, the greater the chance of seeing the aurora borealis at lower latitudes, including the UK. This explains why the UK is seeing aurora displays more often than usual at the moment, as many will remember the strong and widespread Northern Lights display that lit up much of the night sky last year.