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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Benedict Tetzlaff-Deas

Northern Lights in the UK TONIGHT: How and where to see aurora borealis

The famed Northern Lights could be visible in parts of the UK again tonight as a solar flare from the Sun reaches our atmosphere.

Brits have been treated to the Aurora Borealis on a number of occasions recently, with a spectacular green glow seen last night in northern areas of Scotland.

A second night of colourful skies in the same area could be on the cards if conditions are right, according to the Met Office, who said solar winds would continue to blow in the Earth's direction.

Krista Hammond, of the Met Office Space Weather Operations Centre, said: "Minor solar storms are possible on Thursday and Friday night, which means aurora sightings would be possible in northern Scotland under clear skies.

A solar storm produced the natural phenomenon last night, which could repeat again on Friday (PA)

Despite the Aurora being seen as far south as Cornwall last month, this rare event looks unlikely to repeat itself on Friday night, as she commented: "As this is a fairly minor solar storm, the auroras aren't expected to be visible much further south on this occasion."

The lights are being caused by a large hole on the surface of the Sun, which generates solar wind that is now heading towards Earth.

Explaining the phenonomenon, Daniel Verscharen, associate professor in space plasma physics at University College London, said: "Coronal holes are regions from where fast solar wind is launched into space.

The Aurora Borealis is best viewed in remote north-facing areas (PA)

"Fast solar wind has speeds of about 700 or 800km per second and is thus almost twice as fast as the average solar wind.

"This particular coronal hole is of interest to us because it has pointed towards Earth - this means that it has released fast solar wind towards the Earth."

Anyone hoping to get a view of the lights should head to a remote area with a clear sky and a wide horizon.

It is best viewed away from any light pollution, and locations with north-facing coasts typically produce some of the best viewing locations.

Increased solar activity in the past few weeks is a sign that we are entering a 'solar maximum', meaning the Sun is becoming more active, according to scientists.

These periods come around every 11 years or so - which can lead to more coronal holes as well as more significant phenomena such as large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field known as coronal mass ejections.

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