Northern Lights: How and where to see colourful aurora above UK amid 'cannibal' solar storm

The northern lights over Arabaer near Selfoss in the south of Iceland Credit: PA

Stargazers in parts of the UK may have a chance to spot the northern lights on Thursday night as a "cannibal" solar storm hits Earth.

The lights may be visible above Scotland, Northern Ireland, and parts of northern England after a "dark eruption" on the sun's surface - although cloudy conditions might block our view of the celestial spectacle.

The colourful aurora is caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with molecules in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The charged particles are a result of a phenomenon known as coronal mass ejection (CME) – which is sudden release of magnetised plasma from the sun’s corona, the outermost part of its atmosphere.

A "cannibal" CME occurs when one cloud of plasma is engulfed by another after being ejected by the sun.

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The aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, glow on the horizon at St Mary's Lighthouse in Whitley Bay earlier this year Credit: PA

How and where to see the northern lights in the UK

The lights might be seen in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and parts of northern England on Thursday night if the conditions are right, a Met Office spokesperson said, due to a "minor or moderate [chance] geomagnetic storms may occur overnight tonight."

The further north you are, the more likely you are to see the lights, Royal Museums Greenwich explains. This is because the charged particles that cause the lights are attracted to the Earth's magnetic poles. The lights have however previously been spotted in southern parts of the UK, such as Cornwall.

But visibility on Thursday is likely to be limited by cloudy skies and the short hours of darkness at this time of year, the Met Office spokesperson said.

They added: "There's a chance of further geomagnetic storms and aurorae on Friday night, though the weather and short hours of darkness will likely limit visibility once again for most."

Tips for viewing the northern lights

  • Seek out a dark place

  • Find a cloud-free sky

  • In general, looking to the north should give you the best chance of seeing the lights

Typically, the lights are most likely to be visible around midnight local time (between 10pm and 2am), the British Geological Survey says.

"However geomagnetic activity can happen at any time!" the agency adds.

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Iceland is famous for its excellent views of the kaleidoscopic display Credit: PA

What causes the northern lights?

Don Pollacco, a professor at the University of Warwick’s Department of Physics, previously told PA that the northern lights – also known as the aurora borealis – are caused by the interaction of particles coming from the sun with the Earth’s atmosphere which are channelled to the polar regions by the planet’s magnetic field. Depending on which gas molecules are hit and where they are in the atmosphere, different amounts of energy are released as different wavelengths of light. For example, he said, oxygen produces green light while nitrogen causes the sky to glow red. Prof Pollacco added: “These shapes change quickly over timescales of minutes or even seconds. “To predict exactly where you can see the northern lights is difficult as conditions can change quickly."

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Although the closest part of the display might only be around 80 miles overhead, the spectacle may extend thousands of miles above Earth.

The lights are most often seen in Alaska, Canada and Scandinavia, but an 11-year solar cycle that’s expected to peak in 2024 has the potential to make the lights visible in places farther to the south.

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