Will the Northern Lights be visible tonight in the UK?

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March 30, 2023, 8:08 PM

The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, previously shone on the horizon at St Mary’s Lighthouse in Whitley Bay on the north east coast. Photo: Aliyah

The Northern Lights are expected to be visible across the UK this evening, with a flurry of color filling the sky.

Forecasters said the aurora would appear after a “hole” in the Sun’s atmosphere was revealed.

The hole – estimated to be 20 times the size of Earth – was spotted by Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory and is expected to have triggered “minor solar storms”.

Will the Northern Lights be visible tonight in the UK?

Due to the hole in the Sun’s atmosphere, experts have predicted that a bright display could also be visible tomorrow – provided the sky is clear.

Krista Hammond, from the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre, said: ‘Minor solar storms are possible on Thursday and Friday evening, meaning aurora sightings would be possible over northern Scotland under clear skies.

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However, a separate event, a fast solar wind from a coronal hole, means minor solar storms are possible Thursday and Friday evening.

This means aurora sightings would be possible in northern Scotland under clear skies.

Space weather forecast is here https://t.co/h3j6WqzHYZ

— Met Office Space (@MetOfficeSpace) March 29, 2023 Where are the best places to see the Northern Lights?

The auroras will be more visible in rural areas because they are less polluted by light.

The exhibits are most often seen further north, with Scotland poised to have the best view of the show.

However, dark colors tend to lighten over several hours.

When is the best time to see the Northern Lights in the UK tonight?

The lights are expected to appear at some point between 7 p.m. Thursday and 4 a.m. Friday.

The display could even go until the early hours of April 1 in parts of northern Scotland.

It is the result of electrically charged particles from the Sun, which shatter into particles in our planet’s atmosphere.

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