The Northern Lights could be visible tonight across parts of the UK sky, treating skygazers to a rare sight of the phenomenon.
Northern Lights could be visible to naked eye across Scotland and parts of the UK tonight. until Saturday.
The Met Office forecast suggests that the phenomenon, also known as the Aurora Borealis, could be visible to the naked eye along the northern horizon from Scotland, where skies are clear, and may also illuminate the sky in Northern Ireland and northern England.
Sightings were reported by people across the nation on Wednesday – from as far south as Cornwall, as well as in Greater Manchester, Northumberland and the Lake District.
A “red alert” was issued by Lancaster University’s AuroraWatch, run by the Space and Planetary Physics group, on Wednesday, which meant that it was likely that aurora borealis will be visible by camera and naked eye from anywhere in the UK.
The activity is expected to start subsiding from Saturday.
A minor enhancement to the aurora oval – which determines the range of polar lights – is responsible for the display being visible so far south this week.
It is normally associated with Scandinavian countries in Europe, but can sometimes be seen in the UK.
How can you see the phenomenon?
Professor Don Pollacco, of the University of Warwick’s department of physics, said that because conditions change rapidly, it would be difficult to predict exactly where the Northern Lights could be seen.
He said that one thing however was for sure, and that is that you are unlikely to see them from a brightly lit city environment , but need to go somewhere dark and look for the North Star which is towards the northern horizon.
He said you would preferably be in the countryside away from street lights and that of course, it also needs to clear. He said “These shapes over change quickly over timescales of minutes/seconds.”
