The Met Office has suggested that the Northern Lights may be visible across parts of the UK again this week, following a spectacular display over the weekend. The national weather service said there remains a slight chance of solar storms being observed, with potential visibility as far south as northern Scotland.
In its aurora forecast, the Met Office noted that mainly background aurora conditions are expected, but there is a slight chance of glancing Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) impacts overnight on 17 May into 18 May. These could bring some limited enhancement to the aurora, allowing for visibility in northern Scotland or similar latitudes.
AuroraWatchUK, run by scientists at Lancaster University, has issued an amber alert for the country, indicating a possible chance to see the Northern Lights. Professor Jim Wild of Lancaster University said the sun remains very active and could fire another CME earthward at any time, though he cautioned that any further display is unlikely to be as powerful as last weekend's event.
Greenwich Museum astronomer Greg Brown also noted signs of another storm approaching within the next few days but emphasised the difficulty of accurately predicting solar storms. The Met Office advised that while further displays are possible, last weekend's activity was likely the main event for now.
