Aurora Borealis: Will I be able to see the northern lights from London tonight?

"Best seen in darkness, away from any light pollution, the Northern Lights can extend as high as 400 miles above the Earth's surface. They result from collisions of charged particles in the solar wind colliding with molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere. When the magnetic polarity of the solar wind is opposite to the Earth's magnetic field, the two magnetic fields combine, allowing these energetic particles to flow into the Earth's magnetic north and south poles."

"Three coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are expected to arrive at Earth, two on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning and another on Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The aurora will be enhanced into Wednesday morning with enhancement persisting perhaps through to Thursday morning. Auroras usually occur in a band called the annulus centred on the magnetic pole - and the arrival of CMEs from the Sun can cause the annulus to expand, bringing the aurora to lower latitudes, and thus visible in the UK."

"The Met Office adds: Visible aurora expected across parts of northern UK and similar geomagnetic latitudes, with a chance of sightings further south across England and Wales, though cloud cover is expected to inhibit ideal viewing conditions for many parts. While the UK Met Office Space Weather forecast suggests that the best chance of seeing the aurora will be across the northern half of the UK, there could also be clear skies further south."

The Northern Lights may be visible in London tonight due to multiple coronal mass ejections from the Sun. The aurora results from charged particles in the solar wind colliding with molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere, occurring when the solar wind's magnetic polarity is opposite the Earth's field and allows energetic particles to flow into the magnetic poles. Three CMEs are expected, with two arriving Tuesday night/Wednesday morning and another Wednesday night into Thursday morning, enhancing auroral activity into Wednesday and possibly through Thursday morning. CMEs can expand the auroral annulus to lower latitudes, making auroras visible in the UK. The best chances are across northern UK, with some chance further south, but cloud cover and local light pollution may inhibit viewing; London's forecast includes variable cloud, clear spells, and some rain.

Read at www.standard.co.uk