Northern lights to be seen in the UK very soon...no really!

"Scientists say that people in northern parts of the globe may see unusual northern lights as a result of a number of solar storms that flared up on Sunday and are shooting tons of plasma directly at the Earth."

so say scientists here


interesting...

5th of august 2010?

ooops...was on the main video section of the bbc news site now...assumed it was current - probably best to check these things eh!

Yep, that was last year and it was reported in the mainstream media lol

I believe that the Aurora Borealis was actually visible in Scotland on Friday. It was visible in most of Norway, and looking at this map from NOAA POES, it looks like the northern parts of Scotland could see the lightshow.

reply to post by Hellmutt


Isn't that the map of yesterday?
This is today's map right?

reply to post by Hellmutt


Sorry me being dumbass didn't read "friday"

reply to post by Dumbass


Yup, I posted the map from Friday (yesterday), when it looks like it was visible in Scotland. There are pictures in Norwegian media from the lightshow in Norway.

reply to post by Dumbass


must be that sunday night thing

damn you i got all excited then about actually being able to see northern lights..

reply to post by doubledutch


D'oh! It's Sunday today... Ok, it was Friday (not yesterday)

Btw, there's still a chance to see the Northern lights. If not now, maybe later tonight, tomorrow or later this week. Look up to the skies, and also check the NOAA POES site. Have a camera ready (and a tri-pod).

What ever day or time it is, these were maps of the 5th and 6th of February.

Oh thats kinda interesting as i was out on Friday evening and i looked up at the sky and said wow that kinda looks like the northern lights!

I was taking pictures too! I must go have a peek through them and see if i got any,

reply to post by doubledutch


OMG LOL, you had me going ! I was so excited to man, way to go to ruin my "Moment"! I am not in the UK but figured maybe us folk here in Maryland will see it, ah well. better luck next time or maybe you saw this for a reason? now give me my moment back

Shame really. I remember a few months ago when you could see the Northern Lights here. First and only time I saw them, Absolutely beautiful. Made me want to go to Finland and see them properly.

looks like this is happening TONIGHT!! so hope for clear skys in the uk ;-)

Britain should experience spectacular Northern Lights displays from Thursday due to a large solar storm which could disrupt communication networks, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said. Skip related content


"Since February 13 three energetic solar flares have erupted on the sun and spewed clouds of charged plasma called coronal mass ejections (CMEs) out towards the earth," a BGS geomagnetic storm warning said.

"Already one CME arrived on the 14th sparking Valentine's Day displays of the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) further south than usual.

"Two CMEs are expected to arrive in the next 24-48 hours and further...displays are possible some time over the next two nights if skies are clear."

The strongest storm in four years is expected to interfere with satellites and electrical networks, with astronomers in southern China already reporting disturbances to radio communications.

The BGS Wednesday published geomagnetic records dating back to the Victorian era which it hopes will help in planning for future storms.

"Life increasingly depends on technologies that didn't exist when the magnetic recordings began," Alan Thomson, BGS head of geomagnetism said.

"Studying the records will tell us what we have to plan and prepare for to make sure systems can resist solar storms," he added.

uk.news.yahoo.com...

It probably won't be a spectacular as one may hope.
Sure the regular Northern places that get aurora's will probably get a good show but apart from parts of Northern Scotland it's unlikely the rest of the UK will see a thing. Having a full moon out is going to kill it and the chances of the storm has also been downgraded.

They have already been seen

Displays of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) have already been seen further south than usual in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK. And further activity is expected over the next few days.

www.bbc.co.uk...

Yep ....from tonight , but of course sods law says heavy cloud cover where I am in the Midlands

Britain should experience spectacular Northern Lights displays from Thursday due to a large solar storm which could disrupt communication networks, the British Geological Survey (BGS) said.

"Two CMEs are expected to arrive in the next 24-48 hours and further...displays are possible some time over the next two nights if skies are clear."

uk.news.yahoo.com...

Hi there, got very excited when I too read about this online, however I'm a little frustrated that I can't seem to find any info on where in the uk they will be seen, I understand that Scotland and "Up North" have a good chance of seeing them, but I'm right down in the South, so far South in fact that I live by the sea, so what are our chances down here? Also does anyone know what sort of time the aroura borealis becomes observable? Is it as soon as it becomes dark? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm a bit new here (born yesterday infact), and seem to be struggling to find any concrete answers online, have tried some Northern lights watch websites, and space weather and google, but nothing which can be specific, or is it all just a little unpredictable anyway?