How to see the Northern Lights from the UK this week
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British skygazers could be treated to a spectacular natural light show in the form of the Northern Lights tonight and for the rest of this week.
Also known as the aurora borealis, the phenomenon could be visible as far south as North Wales and the Midlands, according to the Met Office.
An aurora is created by disturbances in the Earth’s magnetosphere due to a stream of particles from the sun and is usually centered around the Earth’s magnetic poles.
But auroras are usually seen in high latitude regions such as the Arctic and Antarctica, so a glimpse in the UK is a treat for stargazers and can make for some great shots.
The Met Office said the display this week stems from a coronal mass ejection (CME) – a massive expulsion of plasma from the sun’s corona, its outermost layer.
British skygazers could be treated to a spectacular natural light show in the form of the Northern Lights tonight and for the rest of this week. Also known as the aurora borealis, the phenomenon could be visible as far south as North Wales and the Midlands. This photo was taken in the early hours of March 24, 2023 from the car park of the church in the Northamptonshire village of Great Brington
This ejection left the sun on Sunday and traveled hundreds of kilometers per second to hit Earth’s magnetosphere and cause the aurora.
A Met Office animation shows the auroral oval – the ring-like range of auroral activity that defines the range of the Northern Lights.
It suggests that the aurora will also be visible on Wednesday and Thursday evenings, in case anyone misses the chance tonight.
“In the most likely scenario, aurora would become visible where the sky is clear for Scotland, the north of England and Northern Ireland,” the Met Office said in a statement.
“There is a small chance that the auroral oval may move further south to give views from North Wales and the Midlands a clear view of the northern horizon.”
In the north of the earth, the northern lights are officially known as the aurora borealis, while in the south, the event is called aurora australis.
In the southern hemisphere, there will be “significant improvements” to the auroral oval, but not until late Wednesday or early Thursday.
“In the most likely scenario, aurora would become visible in the extreme south of New Zealand and Tasmania,” the Met Office said.
“There is a small chance that the auroral oval may move further north to allow visibility from the south of mainland Australia and the South Island of New Zealand given the clear viewing conditions of the southern horizon.”
In a new NOAA animation, the aurora’s brightness and location are shown as a green oval at the center of Earth’s magnetic pole
Auroras form when charged particles (electrons and protons) collide with gases in Earth’s upper atmosphere. Those collisions produce tiny flashes that fill the sky with colorful light. Photo taken late March 23, 2023 shows the Northern Lights appearing around the Arctic Circle near Rovaniemi, Finland
In the early hours of March 23 this year, the Northern Lights have been imaged over Stonehenge in Wiltshire
Photo shows the Northern Lights at Titchwell in Norfolk in the early hours of March 23, 2023
The aurora borealis glows on the horizon at St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay on the north east coast, March 15, 2023
In the US, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) claims that the aurora at both poles will be “small” this week, with the possibility of seeing it below 50 percent.
In a new NOAA animation, the aurora’s brightness and location are shown as a green oval at the center of Earth’s magnetic pole.
The green ovals turn red when the aurora is expected to be more intense, which is when people further from the poles are more likely to see them.
When a CME hurtles toward Earth, some of the energy and small particles may travel along the magnetic field lines at the north and south poles to our planet’s atmosphere.
There, the particles interact with gases in our atmosphere, resulting in beautiful light shows in the sky known as auroras.
Oxygen gives off green and red light, while nitrogen glows blue and purple.
In general, the further north you are, the more likely you are to see the Northern Lights.
According to the British Geological Survey, you can see the aurora in the far north of Scotland every few months, but less often as you travel further south.
People in the best position are those in Northern Canada and Russia, Greenland, Iceland and other parts of Scandinavia.
Aurora can often be seen anywhere on Earth from just after sunset or just before sunrise, but is not visible during the day.
The aurora has fascinated and even frightened earthlings for centuries, but the science behind it has not always been understood. The Earth has an invisible force field, the magnetosphere, that protects us from dangerously charged particles from the sun. While protecting us, it also creates the impressive natural phenomena
An aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, is seen in the sky in the early morning hours of Monday, April 24, 2023 near Washtucna, Washington
The Aurora Borealis, known as the Northern Lights, illuminate the sky as seen from a passenger jet flying to Europe as it passes over the southern coast of Greenland, April 28, 2023
Photographer Shazz Hooper captured this amazing Northern Lights show above Knowlton Church, a Norman church near Wimborne, Dorset
“For many people, the aurora is a beautiful nighttime phenomenon worth traveling to arctic regions just to observe,” says the NOAA.
“It’s the only way for most people to actually experience space weather.”
Earth-based observatories allow experts to detect CMEs and other solar activity as they happen and predict when auroras will occur.
One potential problem of such solar outbursts is that disruption to our magnetic field causes solar storms that can affect orbiting satellites, navigation systems, terrestrial power grids, and data and communications networks.
“Information about the entire path of the CME opens the door to understanding why a particular feature of the CME near the sun can lead to a particular effect near the Earth,” says NASA.
“Each additional piece of the puzzle helps us better understand what’s causing these giant eruptions — and whether or not a particular CME could pose a threat to both astronauts and technology in space and on the ground.”