IF you’ve ever wanted to see the Northern Lights you may be in luck this evening.
Stargazers in the UK and the US have a small chance of seeing the spectacular natural light display that’s actually a very pretty geomagnetic storm.
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This is according to meteorologists who have been monitoring the particles in the air that allow the Northern Lights to be visible.
The Northern Lights, also called the Aurora Borealis, were predicted to peak on December 10 and in the early hours of this morning but could be visible for another 24 hours, according to Time Out.
The Northern Lights are technically millions of charged particles that have been pushed away from the Sun at one million miles per hour by solar winds.
When these particles react with molecules in Earth’s atmosphere they can create the aurora glow.
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The Sun recently released one of its biggest solar flares seen in the past three years so astronomers monitoring this have been predicting when the Northern Lights could be heading our way.
They’re usually best visible in places like Norway and Canada.
They are famed for being a greenish celestial spectacle dancing in the sky and are best observed in places like Norway and Finland.
Each light display is known as an aurora and they are also referred to as the Southern Lights and Polar Lights, depending on where they are observed.
How to see the Northern Lights over the UK and US
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Your best chance in the UK is if you’re in Northern England or North Scotland.
You’ll need to be in a very dark area away from light pollution, such as the bottom of a garden or a countryside location.
You’ll also need clear skies with no cloud.
Aurora Watch UK said: “NOAA NWS Space Weather Prediction Center has issued Geomagnetic Storm Watches for 9th – 11th December due to the anticipated arrival of a Coronal Mass Ejection. This means a possibility for aurora sightings across UK.
“As always, timings are uncertain and sightings are not guaranteed – so keep an eye on our alerts for updates.”
There’s no specific place to look in the sky but it’s best to look when it’s very dark in the late evening or early hours of the morning for those in the UK.
Sometimes the Northern Lights look like faint clouds but photographers often capture their greenish glow with long exposure lenses.
People in the US may have less of a chance of seeing them tonight.
The chances were initially high for people in the far northern US and maybe even as far south as Virginia and North Carolina.
Predictions aren’t as certain now but anyone hopeful of seeing the Northern Lights in the far north of the US could try keeping an eye out in the hours before midnight this evening.
Incredible aurora caught on camera in the skies above Canada
Auroras – how do they work?
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.
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Have you ever seen the Northern Lights? Let us know in the comments…
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This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
