What are the Northern Lights?
28 February 2014
The Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights have been illuminating the skies across the UK - from Orkney to Jersey. But what are they and why do they happen? It is, in fact, all down to our relationship with the Sun. A particularly large and fast eruption on the Sun's surface on 25 February meant the Aurora could be seen further south than usual a few days later. "When the sun has a major geomagnetic event, the flux of particles is so high that they can penetrate the Earth's atmosphere at lower latitudes, which is why in England it is only after these storms that we can see the lights," says the University of Lancaster's Professor Mike Kosch. Maps from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center show how far the Northern Lights were expected to be seen overnight on Thursday. Aurora forecast for 27 February Image courtesy of NOAA But in fact, people reported seeing the lights much further south than predicted - including Gloucestershire, Essex, Norfolk and Jersey. To increase the chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis, scientists advise viewers to sign up to an alert service and head outside at "magnetic midnight" - between 8pm and 12am in the UK - to find a dark place with no light pollution.
A particularly large and fast eruption on the Sun's surface on 25 February meant the Aurora could be seen further south than usual a few days later. "When the sun has a major geomagnetic event, the flux of particles is so high that they can penetrate the Earth's atmosphere at lower latitudes, which is why in England it is only after these storms that we can see the lights," says the University of Lancaster's Professor Mike Kosch. Maps from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center show how far the Northern Lights were expected to be seen overnight on Thursday. Aurora forecast for 27 February Image courtesy of NOAA But in fact, people reported seeing the lights much further south than predicted - including Gloucestershire, Essex, Norfolk and Jersey. To increase the chance of seeing the Aurora Borealis, scientists advise viewers to sign up to an alert service and head outside at "magnetic midnight" - between 8pm and 12am in the UK - to find a dark place with no light pollution.
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Where could they be seen?