How to get alerts to your phone so you don't miss the Northern Lights

The UK has had two wonderful nights of northern lights displays - and Friday’s was especially intense. But many were left frustrated because they didn’t find out it was happening in time and missed the chance of a lifetime.

Afterwards, people said it was a ‘bucket list’ event - showing the importance of seeing the natural phenomenon. There is a way of making sure you don’t miss it in future - and that’s by downloading a free app on your phone.

AuroraWatch UK is a free service offering alerts of when the aurora might be visible from the UK. It is run by scientists in the Space and Planetary Physics group at Lancaster University’s Department of Physics.

You can find it in your phone’s App store called AuroraWatch UK Aurora Alerts. If you download it, you will get a message on your phone when there is activity likely to lead to the northern lights. On Saturday a red alert was sent out, which you can see below.

This weekend The Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis, appeared after the Met Office confirmed a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning for this weekend – the first in nearly 20 years. The lights first appeared on Friday night with thousands of people catching a glimpse of the pretty skies - you can see some of those stunning photos here. But for those who missed it on Friday the phenomenon graced the skies again on Saturday giving stargazers another shot.

Explaining why the skies turned a rainbow colour the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the geomagnetic storm hit earth on Thursday and could affect communications, GPS, and power grids. The cause of this storm is a “large, complex” sunspot cluster and is 17 times the diameter of earth with the last storm with a G5 rating hitting earth in October 2003 and causing power outages in Sweden. The Northern Lights lit up the sky overnight, illuminating huge areas of the UK in pink and green.

Pink and green bands of light were seen across the UK and Europe on Friday night, with sightings in the UK as far south as Suffolk. The Met Office said it received pictures from as far away as Prague and Barcelona.

When it does happen to improve the chances of seeing them meteorologists advise staying away from streetlights and using a camera to help improve your chances of seeing the auroras, with cameras better able to adapt to different wavelengths than our eyes.

The lights are unlikely to be visible until it gets very dark at around 11pm at this time of year. Remote, open areas with views of the northern horizon are best.

Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles. As they collide, light is emitted at various wavelengths, creating colourful displays in the sky.

In the northern hemisphere, most of this activity takes place within a band known as the aurora oval, covering latitudes between 60 and 75 degrees. When activity is strong, this expands to cover a greater area – which explains why displays can be occasionally seen as far south as the UK.

According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the earth was hit by a G5 geomagnetic storm on Thursday. A G5 rating is considered “extreme” and the strongest level of solar storm. The cause of this storm was a “large, complex” sunspot cluster, 17 times the diameter of Earth.

The last storm with a G5 rating hit Earth more than 20 years ago in October 2003 and caused power outages in Sweden. Every 11 years, the sun’s poles reverse, causing bursts of solar activity resulting in northern lights. Scientists predict the next solar maximum will occur at the end of 2024.