The Northern Lights illuminated skies across parts of the UK and Ireland overnight, with a chance of reappearing on Tuesday following a powerful solar storm.
This spectacular display was triggered by a fast-moving coronal mass ejection (CME) that erupted from the Sun late on Saturday, reaching Earth between Monday and early Tuesday. The Met Office had earlier indicated the resulting geomagnetic activity could extend the aurora’s visibility further south than usual, given dark, clear skies.
Stargazers on Monday night reported sightings across north-east Scotland, northern England, and the Midlands, with social media photos confirming the lights reached as far south as West Cork in Ireland.
Photography can assist if visibility proves tricky under clear skies, the UK’s forecaster noted. But several factors may still affect how clearly the aurora appears.
Tuesday and Wednesday will see night-time viewing conditions worsen, but northern Scotland and northern England are likely to have the clearest skies, although still not ideal viewing conditions.
A waxing gibbous moon, which means it is between a half and a full moon, could disrupt clear views of the aurora, particularly in areas with additional light pollution.
For those in more marginal locations, further south or in urban areas, light pollution will play a significant role in determining whether the aurora can be seen.
Krista Hammond, Met Office space weather manager, said: “Forecasts can change rapidly, so we encourage the public to stay updated with the latest information.”
A coronal mass ejection is a release of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun’s corona, the outermost part of the Sun’s atmosphere.
These ejections can travel at speeds of up to several million kilometres per hour and, when directed towards Earth, can interact with the planet’s magnetic field.
This interaction can trigger geomagnetic storms, which in turn can produce displays of the aurora.
Auroras occur when the material emitted from the Sun during a CME interacts with the Earth’s atmosphere, producing colourful light displays in the sky.
They are best viewed in areas with low light pollution and with minimal cloud cover.
