Northern lights 'red alert' as experts say they could be visible across UK tonight
A 'red alert' has been issued for potential Northern Lights sightings across the country tonight. The app Aurorawatch UK has sent out the alert for Friday, May 17 due to some intense geomagnetic activity from the Sun.
A red alert means that aurora is "likely" to be seen. While it depends on the weather and cloud cover, Aurorawatch UK said it is "likely that aurora will be visible by eye and camera from anywhere in the UK".
It comes a week after skywatchers were stunned to see the lights visible all over the UK. The bands of pink and green light were seen after an “extreme” geomagnetic storm caused them to be more visible, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The best time to see them is usually after 11pm and potentially until about 2am when it gets really dark. Chris Snell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, previously advised those hoping to see the lights to head to an area with low light pollution and to use a good camera.
He added: “The best chance you have of seeing the lights is if you are away from street lights and areas with lots of light pollution, as any type of light does have a big effect. Also, at this time of year, we are fighting the shorter length of nights, so it is unlikely that they will be visible until around 10.30pm or 11 o’clock when it gets really dark.”
Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles. 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.