Northern Lights set to be visible across UK again tonight - how to watch

27 February 2023, 09:35 | Updated: 27 February 2023, 16:56

By Kieran Kelly

@kellyjourno

A rare display of the Northern Lights could be seen across the UK on Sunday evening and could appear again on Monday night, according to the Met Office. Here's where you can see them and what time.

Displays of colourful light were seen across the UK, primarily in Scotland, but also in Wales, Shropshire and Cambridgeshire.

The Met Office tweeted a series of pictures taken by members of the public which captured the light phenomenon, known as the Northern Lights, in North Uist in Scotland, North Wales, Cambridgeshire and Shropshire.

The national weather service tweeted: "A coronal hole high speed stream arrived this evening combined with a rather fast coronal mass ejection leading to #Aurora sightings across the UK."

In a separate tweet, it encouraged users to upload pictures of any other sightings using the hashtag #LoveUKWeather and said there is a chance of seeing the northern lights again on Monday night.

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Northern Lights, also known as an Aurora display, happen when electrons and protons collide with gases in the Earth's upper atmosphere, causing tiny flashes of colourful light to fill the sky.

The phenomenon is more commonly associated with being seen in high latitude regions close to the Arctic, such as Scandinavia.

The lowest part of the display is around 80 miles from the Earth's surface, while the top is often hundreds of miles away.

Where can I see the Northern lights tonight?

While rare, the majority of Northern lights displays in the UK are more visible the further north you are, though there were some sightings in south east England last night.

The Met Office will tweet pictures if another display happens tonight, as will space physicists from Lancaster University on their account @aurorawatchuk.

If another display is to take place tonight, the night sky will need to be dark and clear, with little light pollution.

What time can you see the Northern Lights in the UK?

The best conditions to see the Northern Lights is when the sky becomes dark and is clear of clouds.

This means the ideal time to spot the light show will be from 7:30pm onwards this evening up until 4am Tuesday morning.

To increase your chances of seeing them, ideal conditions include facing away from light pollution and towards the north horizon. Remote areas will have better chances of seeing them.