‘Once in a lifetime opportunity’ to see the Northern Lights tonight – where to look | UK | Travel

Now there is a second chance to catch the beautiful Aurora Borealis in the UK thanks to an extreme geomagnetic storm. Meteorologist Chris Page said: “Tonight the solar storms are likely to continue and are likely to be visible again.”

What appeared over the UK last night is described by the Met Office as a “very rare occurrence”. While weather expert Page cautioned that “the display won’t be as potent as last night”, there’s a possibility it could be.

“The storm is reducing in intensity and it’s thought the display won’t be as potent as last night,” Page clarified. “Nonetheless, for a once in a lifetime opportunity, it’s definitely worth a look.”

The Met Office explained that a captured photograph of the northern lights will look brighter than it appears to the naked eye.

“The distance to the aurora belt, compounded by light pollution or twilight, means it can be difficult for the naked eye to see the phenomenon clearly,” the Met Office noted.

Craig Snell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, predicted the Northern Lights will be visible in northern parts of the UK, including Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The Met Office recently posted to X stating: “Although geomagnetic activity is not expected to be as strong tonight, there’s still a good chance of aurora sightings, especially across the northern half of the UK. There could be some visibility further south, especially with long-exposure cameras.”

Last night’s extreme geomagnetic storm was the first of its kind since 2003 with hundreds of people taking the opportunity to look up at the night sky to capture the moment.

Pleased to have experienced the rare incident, Tom (PositiveLad) said on the social media platform: “Couldn’t believe we saw them as far south as London, especially with all the light pollution around us here in N22.”

Beverley Lamont said: “Never seen anything like it! From our back garden in Dalkeith, Scotland.”

Tracey Wilkinson said: “It was surreal, I’m still in disbelief we saw that as been on my bucket list for decades. Didn’t expect to see it from my garden in my slippers.”

The British Geological Survey recommended the following objectives to increase the likelihood of seeing the Northern Lights tonight:

• Find a dark place away from street lights
• You will need a cloud-free sky
• In general, look to the north although it could be overhead or elsewhere
• In general, for the best chance of sighting an aurora, try to look during the hours between 10pm to 2am