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Powys County Times
3 days ago
- Science
- Powys County Times
Northern Lights UK: Once in a decade display next month
Parts of the UK could be set to enjoy a once in a decade display of the Northern Lights next month. Increasing numbers of displays have been spotted, with more of the country able to take in the spectacular sights. Within the last year the Aurora Borealis has stunned the nation with dazzling light displays being visible as far south as Dorset, Essex, Cambridgeshire and Berkshire. Northern Lights sightings have increased in recent years and the explanation is well known in the science community, the Met Office has said. Krista Hammond, a Manager at the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC), said: 'Activity on the sun, and in particular the number of visible sunspots, varies over roughly an 11-year period, known as the solar cycle.' The last solar minimum, which is when the Sun had the lowest frequency of visible sunspots in the solar cycle, occurred in December 2019. This means that the sun's activity is currently increasing, with the next solar maximum expected around July this year. As a result, more of the Sun's electrically charged particles are travelling towards the Earth and getting caught in its magnetic field, thus producing more of the aurora effect. Krista added: 'Over the coming years, as we continue towards the solar maximum, we can expect to see an increase in the frequency of space weather events, with more chances to see the Aurora Borealis over the UK.' What causes the Northern Lights? The Royal Museums Greenwich explained: 'Solar storms on our star's surface give out huge clouds of electrically charged particles. These particles can travel millions of miles, and some may eventually collide with the Earth. 'Most of these particles are deflected away, but some become captured in the Earth's magnetic field, accelerating down towards the north and south poles into the atmosphere. This is why aurora activity is concentrated at the magnetic poles.' Royal Observatory astronomer, Tom Kerss added: 'These particles then slam into atoms and molecules in the Earth's atmosphere and essentially heat them up. 'We call this physical process 'excitation', but it's very much like heating a gas and making it glow.' Can I see the Northern Lights in the UK? The Royal Museums Greenwich said: 'The aurora borealis can be seen in the northern hemisphere, while the aurora australis is found in the southern hemisphere. 'While the best places to see the aurora are concentrated around the polar regions, the aurora borealis can sometimes be seen in the UK. 'The further north you are the more likely you are to see the display – but heightened solar activity has meant that the northern lights have been seen as far south as Cornwall and Brighton.
Metro
16-05-2025
- Climate
- Metro
Here's the best spots to see the Northern Lights tonight
Stargazers will be in for a treat tonight – the Northern Lights will be visible over parts of the UK. The Met Office has said the influence of a solar wind stream and a glancing coronal mass ejection – a large term meaning a solar flare – will make the stunning display visible in the northern part of Scotland. The best places to spot this phenomenon will be in Scotland, North England and North Wales, where light pollution is low and viewing conditions are clear. Tonight's aurora is due to a 'once in a decade' solar event which has taken place over the past few months, meaning we get even more chances to see the Northern Lights due to solar activity. The neon spaghetti strings of green, red and blue have become an increasingly common occurrence in, of all places, people's back gardens in London this year. But the Met Office say that the lights are visible farther south more frequently this year because of a shift in the sun's magnetic fields. The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, are the names given to the curtains of colourful light that can appear in the night sky over the northern hemisphere. They are a natural light display caused by charged particles from the Sun interacting with Earth's magnetic field and atmosphere. These particles are carried by solar wind and are funnelled toward the polar regions, where they collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the atmosphere. The collisions release energy in the form of light, creating shimmering displays in green, red, blue, and purple. Green is the most common colour. It comes from oxygen at lower altitudes, while red and blue are produced by oxygen and nitrogen at different heights. Every 11 years or so, the sun's magnetic fields flip over. We're now approaching the tail end of this process, called the solar maximum, when the sun gets especially revved up and spits out all sorts of solar goo at us. When all this sun gunk, called solar flares, splatters onto the Earth, this causes the northern lights. 'While it's not possible to know precisely what this means for individual Earth-directed solar events, it does mean there will likely be further chances of aurora visibility in the UK in the coming months,' says Krista Hammond, of the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre (MOSWOC). More Trending 'While we're in the solar maximum phase now, which could last a year, it's not possible to know exactly when the number of sunspots peaked until some time after it has happened.' In April, the Northern Lights covered parts of the UK, leaving Brits reaching for their cameras. Images showed the aurora borealis geomagnetic storm lighting up the night sky, with conditions confirmed to be 'optimum' in most regions. People in the Isle of Skye and Cumbria reported catching a glimpse of the phenomenon. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: Humans give off a ghostly glow that vanishes when we die MORE: Over 1,200 driverless cars recalled over crashes in the US MORE: Successful test flight for company aiming to travel London to New York in one hour
