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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Fionnula Hainey

Northern lights may be visible in UK tonight as solar flare heads for Earth

People in some parts of the UK could catch a glimpse of the northern lights tonight.

It comes as a solar flare, also known as a coronal mass ejection, heads towards Earth, bringing the aurora to lower latitudes.

The period of high solar activity means that the northern lights may be visible in the UK - but cloudy skies could make it difficult to spot.

People living in the northern parts of Scotland have the best chance of catching the colourful light show, but it may be visible from parts of northern England too.

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Unfortunately, low visibility will make it tricky for most people to catch a glimpse of aurora borealis, the Met Office said.

A spokesperson told the MEN: "Aurora are likely to occur overnight tonight over much of Scotland. However, the cloudy nature of the weather is expected to prevent many being able to see it.

"Cloud breaks are expected over the Northern Isles, which is where the best of the visibility is likely to be.

"There’s a slight chance of aurora extending southwards to reach Northern Ireland and the far north of England, but once again the largely cloudy conditions will prevent any good visibility.

"Some cloud breaks are expected for Northern Ireland overnight, meaning there’s a small chance of sightings in that area."

ITV weatherman Alex Beresford told his followers on Twitter that there would be a chance to see the aurora tonight in the north.

Explaining the phenomenon, he said: "Lots of solar activity and a release of plasma from the sun is set to collide with earth’s atmosphere amounting in this beautiful light display."

But, he added: "Spoiler - could be cloudy but fingers crossed."

People who live in remote areas away from light pollution are most likely to be able to see the lights, which, appear as large areas of colour including pale green, pink, shades of red, yellow, blue and violet.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the solar flare heading for Earth could cause geomagnetic storm conditions tonight and tomorrow.

Solar flares emit radio waves, which can cause problems when they travel towards our planet.

NOAA is warning that there may be some power grid fluctuations with voltage alarms at higher latitudes as a result of the solar activity.

The geomagnetic storm is predicted to be in the G2 category, which means it will be moderate, according to the agency, however it is unlikely to cause widespread disruption.

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