‘Fast solar winds’ mean that the Earth could be hit with geomagnetic storms
People looking to the heavens tonight could be treated to a display of northern lights, the Met Office has said. According to the forecaster’s Space blog, ‘fast solar winds’ mean that the Earth could be hit with geomagnetic storms.
It said that means aurora could be visible across the skies in the UK, including as far south as northern England. The Met Office said: “Fast solar winds have the potential to bring periods of Minor to Moderate geomagnetic storms on Tuesday night (UTC), with further spells possible Wednesday before easing through the rest of the week.
“This will bring the chance for visible aurora as far south as northern Scotland and similar geomagnetic latitudes. There will also be the potential for glimpses perhaps as far south as northern England or Northern Ireland, although this is low confidence.”
The Northern Lights are caused by large explosions of activity from the Sun, which throw out huge amounts of charged particles – called solar wind – into space.
When these particles are captured by the Earth’s magnetic field, they can collide with gas molecules in the atmosphere in an event called a geomagnetic storm. Light is emitted from these collisions at various wavelengths, forming spectacular colourful displays in the sky.
The UK is seeing more aurora displays at the moment thanks to the Sun’s solar cycle. We are currently near the peak of the 11-year solar cycle, known as the ‘solar maximum’ according to the Royal Astronomical Society (RAS). Sunspots, flares and CMEs all become more rampant during the solar maximum, the RAS says.
The higher the geomagnetic activity, the greater the chance of seeing the aurora borealis at lower latitudes, including the UK.
Generally, the best chances of seeing the Northern Lights is around the hours of local midnight, from 10pm to 2am.
The Met Office says the lights could be visible on Tuesday night (October 28) into Wednesday morning. Aurora maps suggest the best chance of seeing visible aurora is midnight tonight.
Cloud cover may limit viewing for parts of the UK, but those with clear skies should try to ding a clear view to the north, with a coastal location or on top of a hill offering the best chances.