Northern Lights set to be visible to Brits tonight

The forecast is looking good for some potential Northern Lights sightings

The forecaster has said that clear skies this evening will mean the lights, also known as the aurora borealis, could be visible to sky-gazers across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England.

In a post on X, the Met Office said: "You might want to look up at the sky tonight because there's the chance of seeing the aurora.

"Clear skies for most overnight will make for ideal viewing conditions, with sightings possible across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England."

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 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.

For best viewing of the aurora borealis, you'll need clear, dark skies relying on a lack of moonlight as well as minimal cloud clover.

If you're still struggling to get a clear sight of the lights, advice follows that a phone camera can help locate them as they detect the colourful display more effectively than the human eye.