Northern Lights: A spectacular view around the world expected to return | UK News

Parts of England enjoyed stunning views of the Northern Lights overnight – and more are expected on Saturday.

The natural light show, known as aurora borealisis one of “nature’s most spectacular displays”, according to the Met Office.

Images from Friday evening showed waves of mostly green and purple light in Bamburgh in Northumberland in the UK, as well as in Estonia and Canada, while social media users posted images taken elsewhere, including Russia.

Although the Northern Lights are mostly visible near the Arctic Circle and northern Scotland, the Met Office says “pale greens and pinks to bright reds, blues and purples can sometimes light up the night sky, especially in the north of England”.

The Met Office said on Thursday it was possible to see the northern lights “in the next few nights”, predicting sightings were “most likely across Scotland where skies are clear but possibly also in northern England”.

What causes the Northern Lights?

This shimmering spectacle occurs when energy and charged particles released from the sun via coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and solar flares travel towards Earth via the solar wind and collide with the Earth’s magnetic field and upper atmosphere, interacting with gases to create spectacular displays of blue, purple, green, pink and red.

If solar activity is strong enough it will cause a geomagnetic storm.

In January, the Met Office said that the solar maximum “is certain to occur in 2024 and 2025”, meaning solar activity on the sun’s surface “appears to be in a declining phase”.

But it said this phase “can be a period that often brings strong events, as evidenced by the visibility of aurora last week as far south as northern Italy”.

Will we see them again soon?

There are several things that need to be done to make the skies in England dazzling again.

Any solar eruption that occurs must be aimed at Earth and cause a strong geomagnetic storm.

The weather should also be dark enough, with stable weather allowing for clear skies to see the aurora.

What’s the best way to catch it?

Although the Northern Lights are visible to the naked eye, their colors often appear faint and muted compared to those captured on camera.

To capture better images of aerial phenomena, Adobe recommends using manual camera settings and a wide aperture on the camera.

It is recommended to use a low shutter speed, up to 20 seconds, as well as set the camera’s ISO value to 2,000 or higher – such settings are usually available in the smartphone camera settings.