Northumbria University

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The Northern Lights are a stunning display of glowing, swirling lights in The Night Sky that have amazed humankind for thousands of years.

In recent weeks They have been sighted across The UK, and The Met Office is predicting more in The Days to Come .

But what causes them? And how can you See them?

What are The Northern Lights ?

The Northern Lights are caused by charged particles from The Sun hitting gases in The Earth 's Atmosphere , in a similar way to how fluorescent light tubes and neon signs Work .

They occur around The North Pole when The solar wind carrying The particles interacts with The Earth 's magnetic Field .

Green is The Most common colour, which occurs when The particles hit oxygen in The lower Atmosphere . Red appears when The particles hit oxygen in The upper Atmosphere , while blue or purple occur when nitrogen is involved.

Which month is best to See The Northern Lights ?

The Northern Lights are most active in March and September, according to The Met Office , during The Equinox . This is when The Earth is not tilted towards or away from The Sun .

But early 2024 could bring The busiest period for The Northern Lights in decades. The Space Weather Prediction Center in The US says The Sun will reach its solar maximum between January and April, meaning more chance of solar storms and more chance of light displays.

Where is The Best place to See The Northern Lights in The UK?

The Greatest probability of seeing The Northern Lights is in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, according to Met Office Space Weather manager Simon Machin .

He told Bbc News only stronger geomagnetic storms are visible right across The UK. There is no guarantee these will happen with The solar maximum Coming In 2024.

The Met Office is predicting a geomagnetic storm

The Met Office predicts The Northern Lights will brighten The Night Sky on November 30 and December 1 .

If there's a clear sky in your area and you live far enough north, you may well get a chance to See The display yourself.

See The Met Office 's and maps to check The Conditions .

Is The Aurora Borealis The same as The Northern Lights ?

The Aurora Borealis is The scientific name for The Northern Lights , named after The Roman goddess of dawn, Aurora, and The Greek god of The North Wind , Boreas .

Similar lights can be seen near The South Pole , which are called The Aurora Australis after The Greek god of The South Wind , Auster .

What time will The Northern Lights be visible?

The Northern Lights can be seen best at night with a clear sky.

“The brightest aurora are typically around 11 to 12pm local time,” according to Andy Smith , a researcher at Northumbria University working on using Artificial Intelligence to predict space Weather .

Be aware that They often won't look as bright to The Naked Eye as They do in photos and video. Professional photographers often set their cameras to take in more light and make The displays look more Spectacular .

Do The Northern Lights happen every night?

The Northern Lights don't happen every night, only when a radiation storm or geomagnetic storm occurs in The Earth 's Atmosphere .

Mr Smith recommended using The Met Office 's space Weather Forecast page, which includes a video predicting The aurora over The Coming Days The Coming Days .

Where is The Best place to go On Holiday to See The Northern Lights ?

The Northern Lights form in an oval around The Earth 's North Pole in an area called The auroral Zone .

Areas in The auroral Zone include north Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, and Canada , The north of American state Alaska, and northern Siberia, in Russia .

This Zone will bulge and move depending on The geomagnetic activity But Mr Smith said The Most reliable locations are places like Scandinavia, Iceland and Canada .

Image credits: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire, Steve Lomas , Hannah Close/PA, Jo Evans , Jim Hunter Images, Reuters/Alexander Kuznetsov, Stefan Babel.

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Source of news: bbc.com