The Northern Lights are set to dazzle the night sky tonight, with Britons in for a “90 per cent chance” of spotting the spectacle, the Met Office has revealed.
The aurora borealis will be viewable in the north of the UK from midnight tonight, thanks to fast solar winds and coronal mass ejections (CME).
People in parts of Scotland and areas with “similar geomagnetic latitudes” should be able to watch the spectacle thanks to clearer skies.
Typically, the spectacle can only be seen in the auroral oval, which encompasses high latitudes like Alaska, Northern Canada, Russia, and the Nordics.
The aurora borealis will be viewable in the north of the UK from midnight tonight
PA
However, parts of the UK will be able to view the aurora borealis over the next few nights.
The Met Office said: “Northern regions have further chances to see the aurora over the next few nights.
“Cloudy skies mean limited viewing opportunities for most of us but, with clearer skies in northern and western Scotland, there’s a much better chance here.”
Typically, if the lights are to be spotted in the UK, then it will be in Scotland, North England, North Wales and Northern Ireland.
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Parts of the UK will be able to view the aurora borealis over the next few nights.
PA
However, as recently as October, the lights were witnessed as far south as Kent and East Anglia.
The spectacle’s visibility peaked in 2024 which saw the biggest geomagnetic storm since 2003.
The Met Office released a map on their social media which states that the highest chance of visibility will be around 8pm on Wednesday and 3am on Thursday.
In areas shaded orange, the chances of witnessing the phenomenon are as high as 90 per cent.
Typically, the spectacle can only be seen in the auroral oval
PA
The best conditions to spot the Northern Lights are when the sky is dark and free of any clouds.
To maximise chances of seeing the spectacle, onlookers should situate themselves in a spot far away from light pollution.
Last night, some sky-watchers in the Shetland Islands and north-west Scotland spotted the lights. Though experts have warned that 8.00pm tonight will be an even better night for spotting them.
