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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Max Channon & Shane Jarvis

Northern Lights 'likely' to be seen again tonight after stunning display in Wales, England, Ireland and Scotland

The Northern Lights are "likely" to be seen again tonight (Monday, February 27), the Met Office has said. Last night Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland were all treated to mesmerising Aurora Borealis displays.

Normally - on the rare occasions they are seen in the UK - only Scotland and parts of northern England are treated to glimpses of the electrically charged particles from space entering the Earth's upper atmosphere at high speed.

However, on Sunday night they were visible across much of the UK, with reports of the phenomena being spotted as far south in England as Sussex, Wiltshire and even Cornwall. Stunning photos have also emerged of the dancing neon lights in Wales, at New Quay in Ceredigion, Welshpool in Powys and in Snowdonia National Park.

READ MORE: Photos show Northern Lights seen in Wales, Ireland and as far south in England as Cornwall

And the Met Office indicated that the Aurora Borealis could reappear in all its glory again tonight (Monday).

In a tweet shared just before 6.30pm, the Met Office said: "The Aurora Borealis may be visible as far south as central England tonight where skies remain clear. The Northern Lights are also likely to be seen again on Monday night."

Since then dozens of people have been sharing their photos online, with sightings even reaching Cornwall in south-west England and Dublin in Ireland.

The Met Office later confirmed that there had been many sightings across the UK. In a tweet shortly before midnight, the weather forecasting service used quite technical language to explain the occurrence, saying: "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 northern lights as seen from New Quay look out point, looking over Cardigan Bay and the Llyn Peninsula, in Ceredigion, Wales on (Tim Pearce)

But it also said the lights could well appear again over England tonight (Monday). Just a few days ago a Bristol resident took a photo of the sky tinged with a strange green glow, commenting that it looked just like the Northern Lights, although they were met with scepticism from people who did not believe they could be seen that far south.

The Northern Lights as seen from Gills Lap in East Sussex on Sunday (@son_of_sparky /Twitter)

A Met Office map showing places where the natural display might be seen showed the tip of Scotland tinged with red from about 9pm, indicating a "100 per cent probability" of the aurora. Meteorologists from the office said: "The lights generally extend from 50 miles to as high as 400 miles above the Earth's surface. The best conditions to view the lights are when the sky is dark and clear of any clouds.

Stunning photo by Catherine Gemmell, a fellow of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, over Moray (@cathgem2000)

"Ideally, the lights will be best viewed away from any light pollution, in remote areas, facing the northern horizon — north facing coasts produce some of the best viewing locations. The northern lights are most active during the Equinox and Solstice in March/April and September/October.

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"Predominantly the northern lights are best viewed in Scotland, North England, North Wales and Northern Ireland. However, under severe space weather conditions, the lights can be seen throughout the UK."

For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.

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