Northern Lights set to be visible from the UK tonight

The lights could be visible across the northern hemisphere

One of the most incredible spectacles the natural world has to offer, the aurora borealis, commonly known as the Northern Lights, occur when electrically-charged particles are given off by solar storms and eventually collide with the earth’s atmosphere.

Increased solar flare activity sends 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 lights 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.

The Northern Lights could be visible in Scotland on Monday night (March 25). They may also be seen in the US as far south as the midwest.

On Monday morning, Australia's Bureau of Meteorology's (BoM) space weather forecasting centre issued an aurora alert, saying a severe solar storm was in progress and the aurora australis could be visible in the southern hemisphere.

A spokesperson for the BoM warned the solar storm had "the potential to impact technology and critical infrastructure assets on Earth and in the near-Earth space environment."

On the same night as the lights, a penumbral lunar eclipse will be visible around the world. This is when the Earth's shadow, known as the penumbra, dims the moon.

The eclipse will be visible in spots including parts of Europe, North and South America, as well as parts of Asia and Africa.

You can find the exact time you should be able to see the eclipse in your location at timeanddate.com.

Related links:

‘Groundbreaking’ lung cancer vaccine in development

Scientists left puzzled by ‘giant cosmic serpent’ wave at edge of galaxy

Arctic could be ‘ice-free’ in 10 years’ time