Potential for 'major' Northern Lights display in the North East as huge solar flares hit
The sun has just released its strongest solar flare since 2019, with a massive solar storm heading for Earth and bringing the chance of an incredible aurora show
by Catherine Addison-Swan · ChronicleLiveThe Northern Lights could be seen in the North East and other parts of the UK tonight and across the weekend with the potential for a "major" display.
An update from the Met Office's latest space weather forecast reads: "Aurora activity is expected to increase this weekend, leading to aurora potentially being visible across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England where skies are clear. Saturday night has the greatest likelihood of aurora being visible, with a chance that aurora may be visible further south, across central England and similar latitudes."
This is thanks to the sun releasing its strongest solar flare of its current solar cycle, which began in December 2019, on Thursday, October 3. According to Space Weather, two coronal mass ejections from the sun are currently heading for Earth, with the first expected to strike today (Friday, October 4) and the second predicted to hit on Sunday, October 6.
With the equinox falling less than a fortnight ago, any aurora displays at this time of year are likely to be heightened because around the equinoxes the tilt of the Earth's axis is at the ideal position to allow more solar winds into the atmosphere. This, combined with the recent flurry of solar activity, means that right now is one of the best times to catch a Northern Lights show - but as ever, aurora forecasts are never set in stone.
We asked resident North East expert Steven Lomas, who runs the Northern Lights Hunters North East Facebook group, for his verdict on the forecast. "If both flares hit in quick succession of each other, we could potentially have quite a major display of the aurora," he said.
However, the South Shields-based aurora hunter added: "While there is huge potential for this, there is also a huge caveat - these storms could hit and they could be the completely wrong magnetic properties to interact with the Earth's magnetic field. And if that's the case, essentially those eruptions will almost bounce off and there will be no aurora."
Steven previously shared with ChronicleLive that he tracks an app called Space Weather Live, which shows him both the speed and density of the solar wind - the greater these are, the more chance of a strong aurora display - as well as the interplanetary magnetic field, which has to be flipped south for the aurora to develop. He also checks the Glendale App, which offers real-time advice on any developing aurora displays across the world, so these apps are worth keeping an eye on after nightfall for the latest updates.
If it does look like a Northern Lights display will take place, the most important thing to do to catch them is to find a view of the night sky away from light pollution, such as in the countryside or along the coast. Of course, chances of seeing the Northern Lights also depend on having clear skies - the latest forecast from the Met Office predicts that there will be "variable cloud and clear spells" tonight, so there will be both patience and luck involved for anyone hoping to see the celestial show.
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