Where to see the Northern Lights in the UK

The Northern Lights are set to appear in the night sky over the UK in the coming days due to the eruption of solar flares on the sun.

Otherwise known as aurora borealis, the Northern Lights are caused by energised particles from the sun hitting gases in the Earth's atmosphere and events like solar storms in this instance contribute to the vivid colours we see in the sky.

Krista Hammond, a space weather expert at the Met Office, told Sky News where exactly in the UK we can look out for the stunning light display in the coming days and how it can occur.

"Over the next couple of days, there's a chance that we could be seeing the Northern Lights, particularly across northern parts of Scotland in the north of England and Northern Ireland," she explained.

"This is because there's the potential to see the arrival of a geomagnetic storm."

The Northern Lights at St Mary's lighthouse in Whitley Bay earlier in 2024 / Ian Forsyth, Getty Images

Two solar flares were seen by astronomers earlier this week which released plasma into space from the sun but Hammond assured "most of that" will miss Earth.

She added: "But there's a chance in the coming nights that we will clip the edge of these two mass ejections, which means you've got the potential for the storm which causes the Northern Lights".

This isn't the first time the Northern Lights have been spotted in the UK this year, as sightings were previously reported back in May - but why have there been more sightings?

It's because we're currently at the "solar maximum" which causes more solar flares and solar storms to occur and consequently the Northern Light have been spotted further south.

We're part of an eleven-year cycle that occurs as Earth's magnetic fields flip, says Hammond.

Experts are unclear on when exactly this solar maximum phase of the cycle ends but the estimation at the moment according to Hammond is that this stage will last from about now to the start of next year.

So it's definitely worth looking up at the night sky to see if you can spot the colour display as it's not clear how long you'll be able to see them for...

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