The Northern Lights will be visible from more southern regions of the country
For the second night in a row, the Northern Lights will be visible in England.
On Sunday, skygazers across the UK were treated to a stunning display of the Aurora Borealis, a phenomenon usually only seen from parts of northern Scotland.
But there were sightings in Northern Ireland, Wales, and Norfolk on last night, as well as more southern regions such as Kent and Cornwall.
A coronal hole high speed stream arrived this evening combined with a rather fast coronal mass ejection leading to #Aurora sightings across the UK@MadMike123 in North Uist@Jon9tea in North Wales@paulhaworth in Cambridgeshire@alex_murison in Shropshire pic.twitter.com/8JhqxPbcFK
— Met Office (@metoffice) February 26, 2023
Many took to social media to share incredible pictures of the event, but don’t worry if you missed it – you might get another chance tonight (February 27.)
In a post on Twitter, the Met Office wrote: “Did you see the Northern Lights last night? Share any photos you took using #LoveUKWeather to be in with a chance of featuring later. There’s another chance to see the #Aurora tonight.”
Did you see the Northern Lights last night?
Share any photos you took using #LoveUKWeather to be in with a chance of featuring later
There's another chance to see the #Aurora tonight https://t.co/l3mE3kxZ4Y
— Met Office (@metoffice) February 27, 2023
The Met Office has said that the natural light display could appear from 7pm tonight and be visible until 4am tomorrow.
For the best chance of seeing the aurora, the Met Office advises finding a dark location with no light pollution and positioning yourself so you’re looking towards the northern horizon.
Of course, you’ll also need some luck with the weather because you won’t have much chance of seeing the dazzling display without clear skies.
👀 Strong solar activity means another chance to see the #NorthernLights tonight
Northern Scotland is favoured to see the #Aurora overhead, but sightings closer to the horizon are possible as far south as southern Britain – *if* you have clear skies
Check out the forecast 👇 pic.twitter.com/2mMceWhrVt
— Met Office (@metoffice) February 27, 2023
The Met Office explained that the weather event has been caused by a “coronal hole high speed stream” which arrived in the evening combined with “a rather fast coronal mass ejection.”
Basically, a strong solar flare on the Sun’s surface was directed towards Earth, firing charged particles which reached our atmosphere on Sunday night.
These particles interact with oxygen and nitrogen which then emit green and red colours over our poles.
Because of the strength of this solar flare though, the particles managed to travel further away from the poles, meaning that the lights could be seen from central and southern England.
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