Northern Lights to be seen in UK TONIGHT - 'best place' in Britain to view it
The exact time you could see the Northern Lights light up UK skies tonight has been revealed - and the best place to see it. The bands of pink and green light have been seen across the UK and in parts of Europe on Sunday evening.
On Sunday night for people willing to stay up late they could get their reward if they live in the northern half of Scotland. The Met Office’s space weather map shows that the aurora borealis can be seen at around midnight tonight in northern Scotland.
Northern Lights sightings are possible due to a solar storm headed towards Earth, caused by powerful eruptions known as coronal mass ejections, could trigger spectacular displays of aurora. Chris Snell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said people should head to an area with low light pollution and to use a good camera.
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“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,” he said. “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. “For most people here on planet Earth, they won’t have to do anything,” said Rob Steenburgh, a scientist with Noaa’s space weather centre.
“That’s really the gift from space weather – the aurora.”