LIGHTING UP
Northern Lights could be visible TODAY as ‘red alert’ issued & Met Office shares space weather forecast
Find out what causes the Northern Lights
THE Northern Lights could be visible from the UK again tonight.
The Aurora Borealis dazzled the nation last weekend, with a stunning display of colourful lights being spotted as far as Essex, Cambridgeshire and Berkshire.
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They were also seen in Suffolk, Kent, Hampshire and Liverpool.
Sightings reached as far as Ireland, with the Irish weather service Met Eireann posting images of the lights in Dublin and at Shannon Airport in Co Clare.
And now, northern parts of the country may yet be able to catch another glimpse of the phenomenon.
A "red alert" has been issued - meaning aurora will be visible by eye and camera from anywhere in the UK.
More displays to come
Met Office space weather expert Krista Hammond said the sunspot region will be rotated back towards Earth in 10 to 12 days' time, paving the way for further geomagnetic storms and displays of the Northern Lights.
She said: "The sunspot region will be be coming back round onto the Earth facing side of the sun.
"We're currently at solar maximum and we're seeing more sunspots.
"If we see more sunspots, we see this increased frequency in space weather and therefore the aurora."
The forecaster downplayed the chances of a full repeat of last weekend's display, but said more solar activity would mean a good chance of sightings "in the coming weeks, months and years".
"It was such a unique set of circumstances that happened last weekend.
"The chances of the same sunspots doing the same thing again - It's probably quite slim.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it comes around and there's some activity on it, but it won't be I doubt, a repeat performance."
Where displays can be seen in the UK is dictated by the "strength of geomagnetic storming", she said.
There may even be some smaller mass ejections on their way to Earth in the coming days with the potential to create more beautiful displays, Ms Hammond said.
"There are a couple of mass ejections on their way to Earth.
"They're a lot less powerful than what we saw last weekend, but they could bring aurora displays across predominantly northern parts of the UK, such as Scotland, Northern Ireland, north of England.
"Just because we're not seeing aurora across the whole of the UK, it doesn't mean that we're not going to see it in some areas," she said.
AuroraWatch UK, which is run by scientists in the Space and Planetary Physics group at Lancaster University’s Department of Physics, explained: "Aurora is likely to be visible by eye from Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland; possibly visible from elsewhere in the UK.
"Photographs of aurora are likely from anywhere in the UK."
The Met Office space weather department says "enhancement to the aurora is likely into early May 18" in the Northern Hemisphere.
They added: "The aurora may become visible as far south as parts of Scotland where skies are clear.
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"Mainly background aurora conditions are expected thereafter."
Northern Lights could be visible TODAY as 'red alert' issued & Met Office shares space weather forecast
What are the Northern Lights?
Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth's atmosphere around the magnetic poles.
In the northern hemisphere, most of this activity takes place within a band known as the aurora oval, covering latitudes between 60 and 75 degrees.
When activity is strong, this expands to cover a greater area - which explains why displays can be occasionally seen as far south as the UK.
The visibility of the Northern Lights was increased on Friday because of an "extreme" geomagnetic storm, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The phenomena appears as beautiful dancing green and purple ribbons of light that have captivated people for millennia.
The visibility of the Northern Lights was increased because of an "extreme" geomagnetic storm, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The NOAA said the G5 geomagnetic storm, which is considered extreme and is the strongest level of geomagnetic storm, hit earth last Thursday.
The cause of this storm was a "large, complex" sunspot cluster and is 17 times the diameter of earth, with the last storm with a G5 rating hitting earth in October 2003, causing power outages in Sweden.