Can I see the northern lights tonight? What time spectacular display should be visible
After they lit up skies last night, this evening presents another opportunity to see the spectacular northern lights above the UK - including in the skies over the Black Country and Shropshire.
The Met Office said late on Sunday that “a coronal hole high-speed stream” had combined with “a rather fast coronal mass ejection” leading to aurora sightings across the UK.
The Aurora Borealis, also commonly known as the northern lights, is a natural light display in Earth’s sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions.
Images shared on social media show the vivid Aurora compiled of bright greens and reds across the Sunday night sky, and now people are hoping to again catch a glimpse of the shimmering display. If the skies are clear, there may be another chance to see the northern lights tonight, which is good news for those who missed them yesterday.
How do I see the northern lights?
It is said that the further North you are, the more likely you are to see them but as seen last night, they were visible from the Midlands region, and also as far down the country as Cornwall.
The Met Office has said that the natural light display could appear from 7pm tonight and be visible overnight until 4am.
However, optimum conditions of dark, clear nights and minimal light pollution are needed to see the aurora.
The Aurora Watch UK Twitter account, run by space physicists at the University of Lancaster, tweets when the northern lights may be visible from the UK.
Northern lights weather forecast
Cloud coverage will of course ruin chances of glimpsing the northern lights.
The Met Office is predicting it will be 'rather cloudy for many', so anyone hoping to view the colourful display will be hoping the clouds clear up and it will be a clear sky.
