Where to see the Northern Lights in the UK tonight as Met Office forecasts 'possible visible aurora'

The British meteorological service, the Met Office, has said that there is a chance of seeing the Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis, in the UK tonight.

Visible aurora is possible for parts of the UK on Thursday night (May 1) and into the early hours of Friday morning, says the Met Office.

The weather agency says that the possible aurora display is due to the “arrival of fast solar winds”.

The Northern Lights are caused by large explosions of activity from the Sun, which throw out huge amounts of charged particles – called solar wind – into space.

When these particles are captured by the Earth’s magnetic field they can collide with gas molecules in the atmosphere in an event called a geomagnetic storm. Light is emitted from these collisions at various wavelengths, forming spectacular colourful displays in the sky.

According to the Met Office, northern parts of the UK could spot aurora displays tonight.

The Met Office said: “The auroral oval is likely to be near background levels at first. However an increase in the auroral extent is probable during the night of 1 into 2 May, with visible aurora possible for northern Scotland and similar latitudes.

“The auroral oval is expected to return to background levels during the 2 May and remain that way through the outlook period.”

According to Met Office aurora maps, the best time to see the Northern Lights is midnight, with a slight chance of visibility from 9pm until around 3am.

The Met Office said in its space weather forecast that “minor” geomagnetic storms are likely across this period “due to the arrival of fast solar winds”.

Met Office cloud cover maps show that parts of Scotland and northern England are forecast to see clear skies at the time that the aurora is due to peak tonight.

You may have noticed that the UK is seeing more Northern Lights displays at the moment, as many will remember the strong and widespread Northern Lights display that lit up much of the night sky last October.

This is because the Sun is currently in the peak of its 11-year cycle, known as the ‘solar maximum’. Solar activity becomes more rampant during this time, making aurora displays more likely to reach southern latitudes.

After the solar maximum ends in around mid-2025, the Northern Lights will likely be limited to northern latitudes, such as northern parts of Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Alaska.