The Northern Lights could put on a show tonight with recent solar flares creating the potential for a “breathtaking” display. The display, also known as aurora borealis, is most likely to be visible in northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. According to the Met Office: “Saturday night has the greatest likelihood of aurora sightings.
" Those keen to catch a glimpse of the shades of green and purple dancing across the sky are most likely to catch the spectacle late at night – usually from 11pm to 12am onwards. “To maximise your chances of viewing the aurora, the sky needs to be as clear as possible. Look northwards and try to find a place with dark skies, ideally away from a city where light pollution can interfere with the view,” Silvia Dalla, professor of solar physics at the University of Central Lancashire said.
A large solar flare on Thursday is behind this expected increase in space weather activity. The lights are caused by solar storms reacting with gases in Earth’s atmosphere. Nasa’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which constantly watches the Sun, captured a huge flare – powerful burst of energy – on Thursday.
Flares and solar eruptions can impact radio communications, electric power grids, navigation signals, and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts. This flare is classified as an X9.0 flare.
According to Nasa, X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. Prof Dalla said: “Solar .