SOME lucky Brits may have a chance to see the Northern Lights as they ring in the New Year tonight.
But visibility will very much depend on weather conditions, which are looking dreadful in parts issued with a rare amber warning for rain in place as well as five yellow alerts.
A number of Northern Lights displays have stunned this year[/caption]
Northern Lights as seen over Nottinghamshire earlier this year[/caption]
Where the Northern Lights could be visible tonight[/caption]
Powerful flares have hurled towards Earth recently which cause aurora borealis.
It comes amid a massive spike in the number of green and purple displays over 2024 – even making rare appearances all the way to the south.
But the beautiful sight can also be a sign of possible danger.
Coronal Mass Ejections (CME), which blast from the Sun and strike the Earth’s magnetic field, can cause communication blackouts by messing with satellites.
The Met Office has said there could be visible aurora tonight across Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of northern England.
It is expected to be cloudy across much of the UK but there could be some clear spells in the east of Scotland, northeast England and Northern Ireland from around 18:00 to 21:00 allowing people to see the Northern Lights.
“These will likely be transient though with cloud and rain around for many, especially in Northern and Western Scotland,” a Met Office rep warned.
For those who don’t get a chance to see them tonight, fear not, as more are expected to come in 2025.
The sun is currently going through the solar maximum, a peak that happens every 11 years or so, where solar activity grows more intense.
A once-in-a-decade peak is expected in July 2025.
“The sun has been very active recently, and we expect it to continue through 2025,” Elizabeth J McGrath, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Colby College, recently explained to The Sun.
“Normally we only see the aurora at locations close to Earth’s magnetic north and south poles because charged particles from the sun get trapped by the Earth’s magnetic field and funneled to the poles.
“With stronger solar storms during solar maximum, there are more charged particles from the sun, and when these particles interact with Earth’s magnetic field, they can be distributed farther from Earth’s north and south magnetic poles, reaching more southerly latitudes here on Earth.
“That’s why we’ve been noticing the aurora in locations that don’t typically experience aurora (including London!).”
Northern Lights seen earlier this year[/caption]
Northern Lights – what causes them?
Here's the official explanation from Nasa…
- The dancing lights of the auroras provide spectacular views on the ground, but also capture the imagination of scientists who study incoming energy and particles from the sun
- Auroras are one effect of such energetic particles, which can speed out from the sun both in a steady stream called the solar wind and due to giant eruptions known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs
- After a trip toward Earth that can last two to three days, the solar particles and magnetic fields cause the release of particles already trapped near Earth, which in turn trigger reactions in the upper atmosphere in which oxygen and nitrogen molecules release photons of light
- The result: the Northern and Southern lights.
