Stunning Northern Lights possible across parts of the UK on New Year’s Eve – but even better displays are coming in 2025
BRITS could be treated to a burst of Northern Lights across parts of the UK on New Year’s Eve if weather conditions play nice.
The UK has seen a huge spike in the number of stunning aurora displays over 2024, making rare appearances all the way to the south.
But even stronger and more dazzling views are expected to arrive next year.
A Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), which bursts from the Sun and cause the Northern Lights when hitting the Earth’s magnetic field, is forecast to arrive on December 31.
There’s a minor to moderate risk of it causing geomagnetic storms, capable of interfering with satellites and radio signals – and even cause blackouts in extreme cases.
The Met Office says there’s a chance aurora will be visible across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England on New Year’s Eve.
But visibility could be hampered by poor weather conditions.
“Tomorrow night will be cloudy across much of the UK, though there could be some clear spells in the East of Scotland, North East England and Northern Ireland in the early part of the night from around 1800 to 2100,” a spokesperson told The Sun.
“These will likely be transient though with cloud and rain around for many, especially in Northern and Western Scotland.”
Fortunately, if the display does turn out to be a dud there are likely to be even better chances of seeing the Northern Lights in 2025.
It’s due to the solar maximum, which is a peak that comes around every 11 years or so, whereby solar activity grows more intense.
A once-in-a-decade peak is expected in July 2025.
“The sun has been very active recently, and we expect it to continue through 2025,” Elizabeth J McGrath, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at Colby College, recently explained to The Sun.
“Normally we only see the aurora at locations close to Earth’s magnetic north and south poles because charged particles from the sun get trapped by the Earth’s magnetic field and funneled to the poles.
“With stronger solar storms during solar maximum, there are more charged particles from the sun, and when these particles interact with Earth’s magnetic field, they can be distributed farther from Earth’s north and south magnetic poles, reaching more southerly latitudes here on Earth.
“That’s why we’ve been noticing the aurora in locations that don’t typically experience aurora (including London!).”
Northern Lights - what causes them?
Here's the official explanation from Nasa...
- The dancing lights of the auroras provide spectacular views on the ground, but also capture the imagination of scientists who study incoming energy and particles from the sun
- Auroras are one effect of such energetic particles, which can speed out from the sun both in a steady stream called the solar wind and due to giant eruptions known as coronal mass ejections or CMEs
- After a trip toward Earth that can last two to three days, the solar particles and magnetic fields cause the release of particles already trapped near Earth, which in turn trigger reactions in the upper atmosphere in which oxygen and nitrogen molecules release photons of light
- The result: the Northern and Southern lights.