Brits may have another chance to see Northern Lights as site reveals when they're likely to appear
Everyone's feeds were flooded with stunning photos of the Northern Lights this weekend, with Brits surprised to see the spectacular display visible from their doorstep.
Yep, while some people fork out a lot of money to go and see the phenomenon in aurora hotspots like Norway, Finland, Sweden and Iceland, many of us were fortunate enough to catch it from our bedroom windows.
What exactly are the Northern Lights?
Also known as aurora borealis, those stunning bands of pink and green light jazzed up the night sky across the UK this weekend.
These displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles.
Why are we able to see the Northern Lights in the UK?
According to the Met Office, the natural light display has been visible from Britain due to the combination of clear skies and enhanced activity from the sun reaching our planet.
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And now that summer is edging closer, we can hope for plenty more of these clearer nights.
But were you lucky enough to catch them over the weekend, and if not, have you missed the boat?
Not according to one expert...
Will I be able to see the Northern Lights in the UK tonight?
Speaking to the Metro, Professor Jim Wild, space physicist from the University of Lancaster, said there was a chance people can still see the Northern Lights tonight.
While the activity is ‘subsiding’, he explained that there was ‘potentially some more of these clouds of material on the way’.
"And the Sun could emit more again because it is especially active at the moment,” Wild said.
“So I wouldn’t say no, there’s no chance, but I think Friday and Saturday were the main events.
“We’re gliding down in activity and we’d need something to re-energize the system if we were to see those kind of displays again.”
Wild added that any major solar flares won’t cause the aurora to start up straight away, but give a day or two of notice.
“If the sun does something powerful today then that could be with us within 24 to 36 hours,” he said.
How do I find out if I can see the Northern Lights in the UK?
If you want to find out how likely it is you’ll see the aurora, you can check out AuroraWatch UK, which ‘takes geomagnetic activity measurements from the SAMNET and AuroraWatchNet magnetometers’ to ‘automatically detect when it is likely that aurora can be seen from the UK’.
It has a colour-coded system to explain how likely it is, with green indicating ‘no significant activity’, yellow suggesting ‘minor geomagnetic activity’, amber an alert of a ‘possible aurora’, and red meaning an aurora is ‘likely’.
Jess Hardiman