The Met Office has said the amazing display of Northern Lights which delighted millions last night could return this evening. A huge display saw people posting images on social media with bright pink painting the night sky and which could be seen as far south as southern England.
The Met Office Space Weather forecasting service said that last night was likely to be the most intensive display caused by a severe geomagnetic storm – but that it is having ‘ongoing effects’ into Friday. It said aurora would be seen on Friday and will gradually ease until Sunday – meaning there is a decent chance of another display later.
On the site it explained what happened: “A fast coronal mass ejection related to a large flare and filament combination that left the Sun on 09 Oct arrived at Earth through the second half of 10 Oct and is having ongoing effects, including Severe Geomagnetic storms. Aurora has been sighted as far south as southern England and on the continent. The chances of aurora remain initially, though gradually easing through 11 Oct, becoming increasingly confined to far northern geomagnetic latitudes by 13 Oct.”
Showing the solar storm is still going Aurorawatch UK already issued a ‘red alert’ this morning that aurora were likely.
Thursday’s displays could be seen as far south as Kent and East Anglia, and were also spotted further north in Lancaster by Professor Jim Wild, 49, who captured the Northern Lights from his back garden.The academic, who researches the aurora and space weather at Lancaster University, said: “My research focuses on the physics of the connections between the Sun and the Earth.
“Over the years, I’ve been to the Arctic Circle several times to make measurements of the aurora, but it’s really special to see the northern lights from your back garden with your whole family.” The Met Office said relatively clear skies were forecast for much of the UK, creating a “decent chance of visibility”.
A spokesman for the forecaster said there had been “more space weather events in recent months”, including the Northern Lights, because the sun was nearing the peak of its solar cycle. Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said there was a chance of some visible auroras across parts of the UK on Thursday night and into the early hours of Friday.
The auroras on Earth, which are most commonly seen over high polar latitudes but can spread south, are chiefly influenced by geomagnetic storms which originate from activity on the Sun.The sun works on a cycle of around 11 years called the solar cycle – with peak sunspot activity on the surface of the Sun referred to as solar maximum.
Sunspots give the potential for Earth-directed releases of large bursts of energy, called coronal mass ejections, which can lead to aurora visibility.Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles.
As they collide, light is emitted at various wavelengths, creating colourful displays in the sky.