The Northern Lights made a rare appearance across parts of the UK on Thursday night - and may be visible again in some parts on Friday.
Best viewable between 11pm and 2am, the lights are caused by the interaction between charged particles from a 'coronal mass ejection' – a violent expulsion from the sun – with atoms in Earth's upper atmosphere.
Those as far south as Newcastle, Belfast and the Isle of Man could see the display by looking northwards after nightfall – and it should be visible outside of the UK too.
Meanwhile, people who are too far south might be able to capture the streams of colourful light with their smartphone camera, even if they can't see it themselves.
How to capture the aurora
According to the Met Office, people with a decent camera should be able to capture shots of the aurora even when it's not visible with the naked eye.
Look north if you're in the northern hemisphere (or south if in the southern hemisphere) and set up your camera likewise.
'Cameras help as the long exposure allows loads of light in and enhances the colours more than the human eye can see,' a spokesperson said.
'That is why you see pictures as far south as Cornwall sometimes though you're unlikely to see it with the naked eye that far south.'
Where to see the Northern Lights in the UK
A Met Office spokesperson said: 'There are generally clear skies for most tonight, however it will be cloudier across the Northern Isles and western Scotland, with patchy rain and drizzle as well as cloudier skies in Northern Ireland.
'There’s also patchy cloud for some in the southeast and East Anglia.'
Some of the best aurora spots around the UK are in areas of high elevation (closer to the magnetosphere) and away from cities that pollute the sky with artificial light.
These aurora hotspots include the Lake District in Cumbria, Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh, the Shetland Islands and Whitley Bay, North Tyneside.
Why the Northern Lights are becoming more frequent
Aurora are generally becoming more frequent as we enter solar maximum – the period of peak solar activity during the sun's 11-year solar cycle, when the surface of the sun is more active than ever.
The solar cycle is the cycle that the sun's magnetic field goes through about every 11 years, before it completely flips and the sun's north and south poles switch places.
Scientists can track the solar cycle is by counting the number of 'sunspots' – dark areas on the sun's surface – and when exactly they appear, mostly using satellites.
The beginning of an 11-year solar cycle, when the sun has the fewest sunspots, is known as the solar minimum – but over time the number of sunspots increases as it reaches solar maximum.
A recent study predicted the solar maximum is coming sooner than expected – 2024 rather than late 2025 – meaning space weather will be most pronounced.
'The most intense storms can sometimes result in catastrophic orbital decay of low Earth orbiting satellites and disrupt satellite based services such as communications and navigational networks,' study author Dr Dibyendu Nandi, a physicist from the IISER Kolkata Center of Excellence in Space Sciences in India, told MailOnline.
'They can also induce strong disturbances in the geomagnetic field tripping electric power grids located in high latitude regions.
'Of course, they also create beautiful auroras so we can expect 2024 to be a good year for aurora hunters.'
What causes the Northern Lights?
Tonight's aurora stems from a coronal mass ejection (CME) – a massive expulsion of plasma from the sun's corona, its outermost layer, which left the sun on Saturday.
The high-energy particles travelled from the sun towards us at hundreds of miles per second before bombarding Earth's magnetosphere – an event commonly known as a 'solar storm'.
At this point, some of the energy and small particles can travel down the magnetic field lines at the north and south poles into our planet's atmosphere.
There, the particles interact with gases in our atmosphere, resulting in beautiful displays of light in the sky, known as auroras.
Oxygen gives off green and red light, while nitrogen glows blue and purple.
Although not dangerous to humans, the particles aurora can damage power grids on Earth and satellites in orbit, which can lead to internet disruptions.
Where to see the Northern Lights in North America
Meanwhile, in the southern hemisphere – where it's known as aurora australis – the spectacle should be visible as far north as Tasmania and New Zealand's south island.
'There is a chance that aurora could be seen further north than this,' Met Office adds.
People in northern parts of Montana, North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin may also see the event although it may be fainter.
NOAA has rated it 'G3' (on a scale of one to five), so it's considered 'strong', meaning it could disrupt power systems on Earth and spacecraft in orbit.
