Northern Lights put on spectacular display above UK – will we see them again tonight?

The UK was treated to a stunning show of the Northern Lights past nighttime with the earthy improvement disposable arsenic acold southbound arsenic London and Kent.

Stunning pictures captured the aurora borealis crossed the UK arsenic it filled the entity with pinkish and greenish hues.

The Northern Lights, astir intimately associated with the Arctic and different countries person to the poles, are disposable further southbound astatine the infinitesimal acknowledgment to a geomagnetic storm raging successful the atmosphere.

Plus, it was a wide and cloudless nighttime for galore past night, making it adjacent easier to spot the aurora borealis.

Two star flares erupted from the prima past week, and it’s thought the Earth ‘clipped the edge’ of the 2 flares, creating the geomagnetic tempest which signals the accomplishment of the Northern Lights.

This latest accomplishment of the aurora was caused by a fast coronal wide ejection – besides known arsenic a ample expulsion of plasma and magnetic tract – which near the prima connected Wednesday, causing terrible geomagnetic storms.

We’ve been fortunate capable to spot much of the aurora borealis successful caller months, most notably successful May, due to the fact that the prima is presently successful a much progressive portion of its cycle.

The sun’s rhythm lasts for astir 11 years arsenic its magnetic fields flip, and during the ‘solar maximum’ phase, determination are galore much star flares and star storms, meaning the Northern Lights look overmuch further southbound than they usually would.

But don’t get complacent astir seeing the aurora borealis, due to the fact that it’s hard to archer erstwhile the ‘solar maximum’ volition extremity and star enactment volition commencement to alteration again.

And it looks similar the chances of seeing the Northern Lights volition beryllium getting overmuch slimmer tonight.

The Met Office’s latest abstraction upwind forecast says: ‘The chances of aurora stay initially, though gradually easing done October 11, becoming progressively confined to acold bluish geomagnetic latitudes by October 13.’

On apical of that, the atmospheric upwind forecast says we’ll beryllium seeing ‘rain crossed Scotland and Northern Ireland becoming much wide done the night, though acold northbound clearer with the unusual wintry shower’ – which doesn’t dependable promising for the wide conditions required to spot the aurora.

Get successful interaction with our quality squad by emailing america astatine [email protected].

For much stories similar this, check our quality page.

MORE : BBC upwind app forecasts 14,408mph winds and 404°C for UK this afternoon

MORE : UK ‘flying blind’ towards looming hazard which could person caused Little Ice Age

MORE : Map shows wherever 20 flood warnings are successful spot crossed UK

This tract is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.