The Northern Lights may be seen in parts of the UK during the night of 11/12 November, the Mirror reports.
Meteorologists have published a remarkable graph showing the likelihood of catching a glimpse of the UK's latest northern lights. As is often the case, residents of Scotland and Northern Ireland are most likely to witness the phenomenon, with optimum conditions expected around midnight.
Skies will be generally clear, further increasing the chances of enjoying the dazzling aurora. The UK Met Office has indicated that even people further south can enjoy the Northern Lights tonight.
The graphic highlights that the likelihood of seeing the Aurora Borealis will be almost 100% for people in the Shetland Islands region and the northern tip of mainland Scotland.
There is around a 50% chance of seeing the aurora in the Scottish Highlands and the far reaches of Northern Ireland, while further south the likelihood is lower but still real. According to the Met Office, tonight will be rainy in some parts of Scotland, but "elsewhere it will be mostly dry, with prolonged clear periods". Clouds usually reduce the chances of seeing the Northern Lights.
On its website, the service says: "The Northern Lights occur due to solar activity and are the result of charged particles in the solar wind colliding with molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere.
The solar wind is charged particles moving away from the Sun at about one million miles per hour. When the magnetic polarity of the solar wind is opposite the Earth's magnetic field, the two magnetic fields combine, allowing these energetic particles to flow into the Earth's north and south magnetic poles." | BGNES
