As 2024 draws to a close this evening, millions of Britons will have their eyes to the skies in search of fireworks. But any New Year's Eve displays will pale in comparison to nature's greatest light show: the Northern Lights, which the Met Office has revealed will be visible across huge parts of the UK due to a coronal mass ejection (CME) striking Earth.
The Met Office predicts that the aurora borealis could be visible much further south this evening than normal. They explained that the auroral oval is likely to remain at background levels initially, but a Coronal Mass Ejection is forecast to arrive at Earth with a risk of G1-G2/Minor-Moderate geomagnetic storms, which could produce visible aurora across Scotland, Northern Ireland, and parts of northern England.
The sun is currently at the maximum phase of its 11-year cycle, making solar surges and northern lights more frequent. Coronal Mass Ejections are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic field from the Sun's corona. The fastest Earth-directed CMEs can reach our planet in as little as 15-18 hours, while other slower CMEs can take several days to arrive.
Most CMEs over the last 24 hours have been considered far-sided, meaning they won't strike Earth. However, astronomers have discovered one CME heading our way that could spark Northern Lights just in time for New Year's Eve, potentially allowing millions to celebrate the new year under the glow of this astronomical phenomenon.
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