Exact dates when you might see the Northern Lights in the UK this week
The Northern Lights will transform the typically gloomy skies above the UK with streaks of pink, purple and green this week.
The night sky phenomenon, or aurora borealis, are flashes of colour that mainly appear in the northernmost regions of the planet, like Canada.
But a geomagnetic storm that has raged for months has made this celestial fireworks display visible further south – even in London.
The Met Office says that the Northern Lights will be visible in the UK this week – and for a good while.
Here’s everything you need to know.
What are the Northern Lights?
Wrapped around the Earth is something called the magnetic field. Think of it like cling film wrapped around an apple that helps keep worms away.
Thankfully, we don’t need to worry about any space worms coming for us. Instead, the field shields us from the plasma the sun spits out, called solar wind.
Some of those energy particles splatter over the Earth and cause a disturbance in our planet’s magnetic field, known as a geomagnetic storm.
If that storm is strong enough, the aurora borealis (no, not that actor from Bones or Buffy the Vampire Slayer) becomes visible
Will we see the Northern Lights today?
Probably! The Met Office says a burst of solar activity means the aurora will dance above northern Scotland.
On the weather agency’s ‘space weather’ forecast (yes, really), it says: ‘There is a chance of aurora sightings at times across northern Scotland this week, given clear night-time skies, with a slight chance of sightings across Southern Scotland and similar latitudes.’
There’s a good chance they’ll be visible elsewhere in the UK. In the early hours today, for example, Northern Lights chasers saw the neon spaghetti above Whitley Bay, a seaside town in North Tyneside.
A big stream of this sun gunk, called solar wind, will reach us today and last until Friday.
Why is the UK seeing the Northern Lights?
The sun’s magnetic field flips every 11 years, the peak of which is known as the solar maximum, Tom Kerss, an astronomer and author once dubbed ‘Chief Aurora Chaser’, told Metro.
‘With the arrival of solar maximum starting in October last year, we’ve had a super season of aurora-chasing,’ he said.
‘And the good news is that heightened solar activity brings an increased chance of sightings at UK latitudes, particularly in Scotland.’
Kerss says that a large coronal hole that coughs up all sorts of high-speed gunk called solar wind is now facing the Earth. ‘You can think of this as somewhat analogous to aeroplane turbulence,’ he added.
‘Where the solar wind speed changes – a region called the stream interface – the space weather is choppy. This is very favourable for the development of bright and dynamic auroras, and this enhanced solar wind also influences the range of latitudes at which they can be seen, bringing them farther south.’
Being so close to the Spring equinox also helps. ‘In late March, as in late September, the alignment of the Earth’s magnetic field is particularly good,’ he said.
‘So there’s a nice confluence of solar activity and our orbit that will hopefully pay off for budding aurora hunters.’
How can I photograph the Northern Lights?
‘There’s something utterly unique about seeing the auroras yourself,’ Kerss said.
‘They show a subtlety and softness that’s hard to define, yet they’re also distinctly self-luminous and evidently enormous.’
It’s something that many people will, of course, be eager to take photos of.
‘Even a smartphone can now reveal a striking range of colour that our eyes aren’t sensitive enough to see vividly,’ Kerss added.
‘Today’s smartphones capture remarkably good shots of the night sky, including the Northern Lights. You’ll need to ensure night mode is enabled.
‘On the iPhone, it’s automatically on when a yellow bubble appears in the corner. On Android, you can select it manually. It takes several seconds to capture a photo, so hold still, or use a tripod if you have one.
”For larger cameras, you can achieve longer exposures, but you’ll need to use your fastest and widest lens. Set the focus to manual and use a bright star or planet to achieve perfect focus for the Lights.
‘Experiment with the ISO (at least 800) and exposure (several seconds or more) settings until the images appear bright enough. Shoot in raw so you can edit these later to reveal more colour.’
How to track aurora activity in the UK
AuroraWatch UK, a Lancaster University service that monitors the phenomenon, recorded recent ‘significant activity’ at 2am last night.
It’s quietened since but similar services like VeryWeather show an ‘aurora storm’ is rumbling.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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