Heads up! Chance of seeing the Northern Lights in Shropshire tonight say scientists
Heads up! Scientists say there is a chance of seeing the Northern Lights again tonight.
The sun has been very active recently and a coronal mass ejection of charged particles left the surface of our nearest star late on May 9.
After travelling 93 million miles through the solar system, the Met Office says there is a chance of moderate to strong geomagnetic storms buffeting the Earth's magnetic field.
A spokesman for the Met Office said of the Northern Lights, known as the aurora borealis, said: "Auroral oval is expected to become enhanced during the next few days, due to a coronal mass ejection which left the sun late on the May 9 and is forecast to arrive at Earth on May 11.
They added that there is a "chance of moderate to strong geomagnetic storms", with "aurora likely visible across higher latitudes, with a chance of sightings into the mid latitudes during the coming night, perhaps as far south as southern England given clear skies."
The British Geological Survey which issues occasional aurora alerts said, on Twitter: "There's a chance of aurora tonight 11th/early Friday (12th) due to a CME (coronal mass ejection) arrival."
Seeing the Northern Lights does however depend on having clear skies on the northern horizon.
The Met Office forecast for Thursday night into Friday includes a lot of cloud!
