Parts of the UK could be treated to a display of the northern lights across the night sky tonight thanks to recent solar activity.
The Met Office forecast the effects of a coronial mass ejection - a burst of material from the sun into space - would result in the colourful displays across northern parts of the UK from Tuesday evening.
“Strong auroral activity is possible in northern Scotland, but even southern England could catch a glimpse in any cloud breaks,” the Met Office said on social media platform X.
The forecaster said its effects could continue into Wednesday night before easing into background levels.
The aurora borealis is caused by solar storms on the surface of the sun. These storms give out eclectically charged particles which can travel millions of miles and, in some cases, they collide with Earth.
Although most of these solar particles are deflected, some are captured by the Earth’s magnetic field, creating spectacular displays.
Auroras give off several colours, such as purple, blue and pink, and are most visible at night. These colours are created by two primary gases in the Earth’s atmosphere — oxygen and nitrogen.
Usually, the northern lights are visible in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, Canada, the north of American state Alaska and northern Siberia in Russia. They are rarely seen in the UK.
Stephen Dixon, spokesman for the Met Office, said ahead of a recent display last month that people had noticed the northern lights more in the last year due to the sun being in its solar maximum phase of an 11-year cycle, “meaning higher frequency of solar activity on the sun.”
