Shimmering greens, purples and pinks of the northern lights appeared in the night sky across Britain and Ireland on Sunday night in a display that reached as far south as Hertfordshire and Cornwall.
The light spectacle, also known as an aurora, is usually most visible near the Earth’s magnetic north and south poles when high-speed electrically charged particles from space collide with gas molecules in Earth’s upper atmosphere.
Occasionally, this occurrence can be seen in the night sky over Britain.
The Met Office forecast clear conditions across the UK for Sunday night, saying the aurora borealis “may be visible as far south as central England tonight where skies remain clear”, adding that the lights were likely to be seen again on Monday night.
A map modelling the movement of the aurora showed some of northern Scotland, including the Shetland Islands, covered with red from about 8pm, indicating a strong probability of the aurora being visible. The Met Office map also showed the display may still have been visible until about 4am on Monday in parts of the UK.
Dozens of spectators shared their sightings across social media on Sunday, with some reporting seeing the spectacle as far south as Cornwall.
A coronal hole high speed stream arrived this evening combined with a rather fast coronal mass ejection leading to #Aurora sightings across the UK@MadMike123 in North Uist@Jon9tea in North Wales@paulhaworth in Cambridgeshire@alex_murison in Shropshire pic.twitter.com/8JhqxPbcFK
— Met Office (@metoffice) February 26, 2023
“Who needs a trip to Iceland when you can see the northern lights from upper Wensleydale,” one person posted.
Another shared a snap purportedly from just outside London. “Northern lights in St Albans, Hertfordshire, tonight. Unbelievable.”
The Met Office later shared a series of snaps taken by sky watchers on the Scottish island of North Uist, the village of Llysfaen on the north coast of Wales, and Cambridgeshire and Shropshire in England.
“A coronal hole high speed stream arrived this evening combined with a rather fast coronal mass ejection leading to aurora sightings across the UK,” the forecaster said in a tweet just after midnight.
Callout
The weather forecaster encouraged users to upload photos of sightings using the hashtag #LoveUKWeather.
One account with the Twitter handle Cornwall Skies shared a photo of what appeared to be an illuminated night sky.
“Looking north tonight in east Cornwall. There are no towns causing light pollution nearby to the north, just Bodmin Moor,” it said. “We are also a ‘dark sky’ area, I think this could be the aurora northern lights.”
Northern lights in St Albans, Hertfordshire, tonight. Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/zi7u5oEKvu
— Joel Rabinowitz (@joel_archie) February 26, 2023
Auroras usually occur in a band called the annulus (a ring about 1,865 miles across) centred on the magnetic pole. The arrival of a coronal mass ejection from the sun can cause the annulus to expand, bringing the aurora to lower latitudes, and it is under these circumstances that the lights can be seen in the UK, according to the Met Office.
The intensity of the aurora and chances of viewing the display are affected by minor to moderate geomagnetic storms, created by ongoing coronal hole fast wind and coronal mass ejection effects, the Met Office explained in a tweet.
The Met Office said the lights might also be visible on Monday evening, although cloudy skies could limit those who get a second chance to witness them.
The head of space weather at the Met Office, Mark Gibbs, said: “The aurora will continue tonight but with cloudy skies across much of the UK, it may be too optimistic to expect clear sightings two nights in a row.
“Last night’s sighting saw the coincidence of perfect conditions, making the aurora visible on the north horizon in the south of England.
“If you have a clear sky tonight, head outside around midnight and have a look, but it is most likely to be visible from the west coast of Scotland.”
The Royal Museums Greenwich recommends finding a dark location with no light pollution for the best chances of seeing the aurora.
Additional reporting by Mabel Banfield-Nwachi
