Northern Lights can be see in UK again TONIGHT with three places getting 'best view'

The exact time you could spot Northern Lights again this weekend – and where in UK you’ll get the best view - has been revealed. A "red alert" has been issued - meaning aurora will be visible by eye and camera from anywhere in the UK but some towns and cities will get a better glimpse than others.

The Met Office space weather department says "enhancement to the aurora is likely into early May 18" in the Northern Hemisphere and said: "The aurora may become visible as far south as parts of Scotland where skies are clear. Mainly background aurora conditions are expected thereafter."

AuroraWatch UK explained: "Aurora is likely to be visible by eye from Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland; possibly visible from elsewhere in the UK. Photographs of aurora are likely from anywhere in the UK."

READ MORE Parents getting six payments and discounts worth £7,732 before end of May

The spectacle came after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in the US issued its first severe solar storm warning since 2005 as a series of solar flares combined to form a huge burst of solar plasma.

The phenomenon was seen last week - on Friday and Saturday evenings - and could be replicated again tonight, experts have said. The sun is in the most active period of its 11-year cycle, which means we could get another chance to see the Northern Lights on May 18.

"It's not easy to give a long heads up on possible sightings, so it's worth keeping an eye on aurora watch websites and apps, especially as 2024 has been labelled the Year of the Aurora," said Kirsty McCabe, from Sky News.

Professor Mathew Owens, a space physicist at the University of Reading's department of meteorology, told Sky News: "Space is a mess right now, there's six or seven of these eruptions piling up right now between the Sun and Earth." A spokesperson for Energy Networks Association, which represents the UK's electricity networks, told Sky News: "The energy industry plans for a range of events far and wide - including into space.

"We're monitoring the space weather forecast carefully."