The Northern Lights might be visible as far south as Norfolk if they appear in the skies above the UK tonight, an expert predicts.
It’s not guaranteed, but a geomagnetic storm – caused by energy, blasted from the Sun to Earth in solar winds – mean you may see them if the conditions are right.
Sometimes this energy breaks into the earth’s atmosphere and makes gases glow to form what we know as the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights.
‘There’s a very high probability that they’ll be exploding across the sky at northern latitudes’, astronomer Tom Kerss, the ‘chief aurora hunter’ with Hurtigruten cruises in Norway, told Metro.
‘Therefore, from more southerly latitudes, or mid-northern latitudes like the UK, if you’re looking north, you should be able to see something at some point tonight on your northern horizon.’
When will the Northern Lights be visible?
If the aurora borealis does appear, it will peak around midnight tonight. You could see it as early as 9pm or as late as 2am.
Tom said: ‘You might need a smartphone camera or another camera to draw out any color, but if you keep your eyes cast to the north and your skies are clear, there’s a good opportunity, particularly around the hours of around nine o’clock tonight, through to about two o’clock in the morning, to see some Northern Lights dancing.’
Even when you visit the best viewing spot on Earth, things don't always go to plan
Interest in the Northern Lights has surged over the past 12 months amid a once-in-a-decade display.
A solar maximum, which we’re at the peak of, meant we’ve seen lightshows so frequent and impressive that some have described it as magic.
These cycles take roughly 11 years, which means the best chance of seeing aurora is in these next 12 months.
After that, you’ll be waiting until 2036, or you’ll have to travel far to the north like Metro’s Alice Murphy, who chased the Lights around the Arctic Circle in February, and you can read all about that experience here.
Where will you be able to see the Northern Lights?
‘This is just a forecast, and it could exceed expectations, or it could be a bit of a damp squib’, Tom said.
‘But we would expect them to be visible like from all of Scotland and large parts of the north of England, maybe northern Wales, and even possibly as far south as the north of Norfolk, for example.
‘I think it’s very probable that they’ll be seen widely from Scotland and large parts of the north of England, but it might be tricky to see them if you’re in the south of England.’
Ultimately some places are more suitable than others.
Tom said: ‘Unfortunately, the weather’s not always great there, but I would definitely go up into the north of Scotland.
‘I used to live in the north of Scotland near Inverness, so looking out over the North Sea from the beach there, it’s just perfectly clear and dark. There’s no no light pollution or any obstructions in the way.
‘But if you have a local dark sky spot – for example, a dark sky park – it’s definitely worth going there.
‘You could go to Kielder [Forest] if you’re in Northumberland, or you could go to the Galloway Forest in Scotland.
‘Even as far south as the South Coast, if you went somewhere like the South Downs or the New Forest, then you might have an opportunity to find dark enough sky to make the Northern Lights more likely to be seen for you.’
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