The Northern Lights can be seen over the UK this week (Image: Getty)
The are at their peak this week and will be visible over the UK.
Now is the perfect time to see the night sky phenomenon, with the moon waning in its last quarter and the sun in a solar maximum phase throughout 2025.
, Latin for “northern dawn”, forms when charged particles from the sun collide with Earth’s upper atmosphere at incredible speeds — up to 45 million mph.
The planet’s magnetic field acts as a protective shield, preventing these particles from causing harm while creating the spectacle we know as the Northern Lights.
The colours of the lights depend on the type of gas involved in the collision and the altitude at which it occurs. Green is most common, caused by oxygen, as are pinks, blues, and purples, caused by nitrogen.
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Northern Lights are caused by particles for the sun colliding with our atmosphere (Image: Getty)
The phenomenon was spotted last night over the east coast of the UK, from Norfolk to Shetland.
The further north you are the more likely you are to see the display – but heightened solar activity has meant that the northern lights have been seen as far south as Cornwall and Brighton.
This comes after the forecast increased sightings due to solar activity. The Space Weather forecast said that solar activity was moderate with three moderate flares and ten sunspot regions on the sun.
The conditions do still need to be right to see the lights, however. Dark and clear nights, preferably with little light pollution, offer the best chance of seeing the aurora.
If you can’t escape an urban area, ensure there are no bright lights in your field of view, particularly to the north, where displays are most likely.
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A coastal location or the top of a hill may be good options. During extremely strong displays, the aurora could be overhead or to the south of your location.
The best chances of seeing the aurora is around midnight local time, 10pm to 2am. However, depending on geomagnetic activity, the aurora may appear at any time during the night.
Cameras are more sensitive than our eyes and will pick up the colour of the aurora. A faint display may appear white or grey to the eye but a long-exposure photo will pick up the greens, reds or purples.
A lot of smartphones now have a night mode. Choose a long exposure time to collect the most light.