The Northern Lights will shine across much of the UK TONIGHT as a huge solar storm hits Earth: Will your surroundings light up when the Northern Lights light up the night sky?
If you missed the dazzling display of the Northern Lights over the past few months, you may still get a chance to spot this magnificent natural phenomenon.
The Met Office predicts that the Northern Lights will be visible as far away as Northern Ireland and over parts of northern England tonight.
When a huge wave of charged particles from the sun collides with Earth, the sky will light up across much of the Northern Hemisphere.
If you plan to check out the sky tonight, be sure to bring your phone, as the Northern Lights often show up much brighter in photos.
Those hoping to view the Northern Lights should plan carefully, as short summer nights and poor weather can make spotting the lights even more difficult.
As a massive solar storm hits Earth tonight, the Northern Lights will light up the skies over much of the UK. Pictured: Northern Lights during May’s solar storm
The Northern Lights are a natural phenomenon created when charged particles from the sun collide with gases in our atmosphere.
Because the Earth’s magnetic field directs these charged particles toward the poles, the lights are typically only visible at more extreme latitudes.
During events called coronal mass ejections (CMEs), huge amounts of stellar material are ejected into space as the Sun shoots out huge plumes of plasma.
Jake Foster, an astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told MailOnline: ‘Coronal mass ejections can send huge streams of charged particles towards Earth.
“These particles colliding with our planet’s atmosphere produce the shimmering curtains of light known as the aurora borealis or northern lights. Larger CMEs often lead to more intense aurora activity.”
Tonight’s phenomena are caused by a large ‘halo’ CME that burst from the Sun on July 21 and is likely to collide with Earth’s magnetic field tonight.
The Met Office predicts that the Northern Lights will be visible over Northern Ireland tonight and as far south as northern England.
According to the Met Office’s space weather forecast, Earth will experience a spike in geomagnetic activity today as the first part of the CME hits the planet.
Activity will diminish tomorrow, but there is also a chance of a minor geomagnetic storm on July 26.
However, the Met Office also warns that conditions tonight will not be ideal for spotting the Northern Lights.
Because the days are shorter in the summer, it is dark for a much shorter time. The sun does not set until 9:00 PM tonight.
Combined with the brightness of the full moon, this can make it significantly more difficult to see the often faint glow of the Northern Lights.
The Northern Lights, seen here over Denbigh Moors, Wales, are caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with our atmosphere
During events called coronal mass ejections, large plumes of plasma are sent toward Earth, which are then directed toward the planet’s poles.
A Met Office spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘While a coronal mass ejection is likely to arrive on Earth today and there are likely to be auroral displays in Northern Ireland, Northern England and similar geomagnetic latitudes, visibility at night will be significantly reduced due to shorter nights at this time of year, a relatively full moon, cloud and rain for many.
‘When we add all this up, it is very unlikely that we will see the Northern Lights. Furthermore, the strength of the event is unlikely to result in Northern Lights in the southern part of the UK.’
To make matters worse, the weather forecast for tonight looks particularly bad for areas that might otherwise have good weather chances.
The Met Office is forecasting rain across much of Scotland and northern England at 10pm tonight, with thick cloud in most places.
However, people in Northern Ireland will have a better view as tonight’s rain is likely to have largely cleared.
Unfortunately, the weather forecast for tonight is poor, with rain (left) and cloud (right) expected to blanket much of the north of the UK.
To make the most of your chance to spot the Northern Lights, experts recommend getting away from light pollution and giving your eyes time to adjust to the darkness.
Because the Northern Lights can be quite dim in the moonlight, you should use as few light sources as possible to see them with the naked eye.
For many, the best way to spot the Northern Lights is to use their phone’s camera.
Mr Foster says: ‘To the naked eye, the aurora borealis is not very colourful, so it is best to take long exposure or night mode photos of the sky to see if the aurora is actually overhead.’
When dramatic Northern Lights activity hit the UK in May this year, many complained that social media posts exaggerated the brightness of the display.
Although photographs of the Northern Lights showed bright, colourful activity even in south Cornwall, in reality there was often little to see.
In the US, NOAA predicts the Northern Lights could extend across much of Canada due to the intensity of the storm
Beginning astronomers should use this to their advantage and try to take long exposure photos of the Northern Lights to get the best view of tonight’s activity.
Mr Foster says: ‘Phone cameras have a clever feature that the human eye doesn’t have: they can capture light over a period of time and then quickly combine that light into a single image.’
While it may be disappointing for some to see the device on your phone, you can also use this to your advantage.
Capturing the perfect photo of the Northern Lights is a challenge in itself, but it does provide some stunning views.
Mr Foster adds: ‘The longer the exposure time, the more light the camera can capture and the brighter the image will be. This is especially noticeable when using ‘night mode’ or a similar setting on your phone camera.’
The Met Office advises placing your camera or phone on a tripod for stability and pointing it at a bright spot in the sky.
Try to capture as much light as possible, but don’t leave the camera shutter open so long that the photo becomes blurry.
Try an initial exposure time of eight to 15 seconds in low light, then decrease the shutter speed to two to three seconds.
This will give you a great view of tonight’s Northern Lights, even though you won’t be able to see them with the naked eye.