Look up tomorrow! Northern Lights will be visible across the whole of Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of northern England as a ‘cannibal’ solar storm hits Earth – here’s how and when to see them

Lucky Brits will get the chance to see the Northern Lights tomorrow, in the middle of a ‘cannibal’ solar storm.

Stargazers across Scotland, Northern Ireland and even parts of England should expect to see the aurora, following a “dark burst” from the sun’s surface.

While coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are quite common, scientists are less familiar with the scary-sounding “cannibal” plasma wave that swept our planet last week.

This emerged when a first CME was quickly followed by another – which swept up to form a huge ball of energetic and highly magnetized gas.

While power outages and power outages may result, scientists suggest that a Northern Lights spectacle is an advantage.

Yesterday, Sean Elvidge, Associate Professor of Space Environment at the University of Birmingham, told MailOnline: ‘These storms are manifesting as large disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field, potentially causing various space weather effects.

‘On the one hand, they can lead to radio outages, disrupting the communication systems on our planet. On the other hand, these storms can produce awe-inspiring displays of natural beauty known as auroras.”

While geomagnetic activity may be “unstable” tonight, the Met Office expects it to increase to “minor/moderate” tomorrow.

Forecasts show the CME may blow toward Earth during the daylight hours of July 20, with auroras likely between 9 p.m. GMT and midnight.

It is possible for the Northern Lights to be visible from some regions of Northern England, as well as from all over Scotland and Northern Ireland.

But thanks to overnight cloud cover and fewer hours of darkness, the Met Office has said it’s difficult to pinpoint specific cities.

After that, geomagnetic activity is likely to decrease, but there is a chance that auroras can still be seen in the northernmost areas of the UK on Saturday evening.

Predictions show a CME may blow toward Earth during the daylight hours of July 20, with auroras likely between 9pm GMT and midnight (pictured at noon on July 21)

Four days ago, a so-called “dark burst” was launched alongside a CME. Then, 24 hours later, a second, faster CME erupted from a separate, much larger sunspot (pictured)

Professor Don Pollacco, Department of Physics, University of Warwick, told MailOnline: ‘Predicting exactly where you might see the Northern Lights is difficult as conditions can change quickly.

“However, one thing is for sure, and that’s that you probably won’t see them from a brightly lit city environment – you’ll need to go to a dark place and look towards the northern horizon (look for the North Star).

‘So you prefer to be in the countryside, away from street lights. Of course it has to clear too!’

To see an aurora, it doesn’t have to be directly overhead, and can be seen from up to 1,000 km away, according to the national Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

However, those south of the world in Australia and New Zealand are unlikely to see the aurora.

This is quite common, as auroras are most likely to be seen from the Arctic and Antarctic Circles.

This is because the energy and small particles of solar activity travel along the magnetic field lines to the Earth’s poles, so they appear strongest there.

The phenomenon is only seen from further away when this activity is particularly strong.

SUNSTORMS ARE A CLEAR DANGER TO ASTRONAUTS AND CAN DAMAGE SATELLITES

Solar stormsor solar activity, can be divided into four main components that can have consequences on Earth:

• Solar flares: A large explosion in the atmosphere of the sun. These flares are made from photons coming directly from the flare site. Solar flares only strike Earth when they occur on the side of the Sun that faces Earth.
• Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs): Large clouds of plasma and magnetic field emanating from the sun. These clouds can erupt in any direction and then continue in that direction, plowing through the solar wind. These clouds only cause impacts on the Earth when they are aimed at the Earth.
• Fast solar wind currents: These come from solar coronal holes, which form all over the sun and usually only when closer to the solar equator do the winds affect the Earth.
• Solar energetic particles: High-energy charged particles believed to be released primarily by shocks formed at the leading edge of coronal mass ejections and solar flares. When a CME cloud plows through the solar wind, solar energetic particles can be produced, and because they are charged, they follow the magnetic field lines between the sun and Earth. Only charged particles that follow magnetic field lines that intersect the Earth will have an impact.

While these may seem dangerous, astronauts are not in immediate danger from these phenomena due to the relatively low orbit of manned missions.

However, they should be concerned about the cumulative exposure during spacewalks.

This picture shows the sun’s coronal holes in an x-ray. The outer solar atmosphere, the corona, is structured by strong magnetic fields, which when closed can cause the atmosphere to suddenly and violently release gas bubbles or tongues and magnetic fields called coronal mass ejections

The damage caused by solar storms

Solar flares can damage satellites and have enormous financial costs.

The charged particles could also threaten airlines by disrupting the Earth’s magnetic field.

Very large flares can even cause currents in power grids and shut down the energy supply.

When coronal mass ejections hit Earth, they cause geomagnetic storms and enhanced aurora.

They can interfere with radio waves, GPS coordinates and overload electrical systems.

A large influx of energy can enter high-voltage grids and permanently damage transformers.

This can shut down businesses and homes around the world.

Source: NASA – Solar Storm and Space Weather