Northern Lights could light up UK skies tonight

The Met Office has issued an update

It's been quite the year for the aurora borealis, with Brits being treated to views of the spectacle multiple times this year.

It seems that some of us could be in with a chance of yet another glimpse - if the weather doesn't get in the way, that is.

"A coronal mass ejection (CME) which left the Sun early on 29 December, is expected to arrive on New Year's Eve," the Met Office said.

"But, although the Northern Lights may be in place, visibility could hamper any sightings.

"These will likely be transient though, with cloud and rain around for many, especially in Northern and Western Scotland."

Areas with the best chance of getting a look include eastern Scotland, northeast England, and Northern Ireland, where there may be clear spells between 6pm and 9pm.

Increased solar flare activity causes coronal mass ejections (CMEs), sending out electrically charged particles from the sun which become trapped in by the Earth’s magnetic field.

Once trapped, the particles then heat up atoms in the Earth’s atmosphere by smashing into them, resulting in the bright colours we know as the Northern Lights.

The aurora are usually visible from countries closest to the Arctic, such as Canada, Iceland and Norway.

But when there is particularly large amount of solar activity, they can be visible further south than usual – such as from northern parts of the UK.