The Met Office has confirmed that the Northern Lights will be visible over the UK again on Monday night, with the aurora expected to strengthen compared to Sunday.
The phenomenon was spotted across various parts of the UK on Saturday night, especially in the north of England and Scotland. Stargazers will get another good opportunity on Monday, October 12, according to the Met Office forecast.
Weaker Sunday, stronger Monday
In a post on X on Sunday afternoon, the Met Office said: "The northern lights are possible tonight and tomorrow night, cloud dependent. Weaker tonight, so most likely seen across Scotland.
"Then strengthen again on Monday night and could be seen further south into central areas. Long-exposure photos may capture them further south."
Reports from social media site Reddit have already poured in from across the UK this weekend, with sightings in the North of England, Scotland and even the Midlands.
Space weather forecast
The Met Office said in its space weather forecast for Saturday to Tuesday: "Two glancing coronal mass ejections followed by a coronal hole high speed stream bring a daily chance of enhancing the auroral oval, with sightings possible across Scotland and similar geomagnetic longitudes where skies are clear between 10-13 Oct."
Keen northern lights spotters are best placed to head to high points, hills, and dark places away from big cities and light pollution to give themselves the best chance of spying the lights.
How to see the aurora
The Met Office explains when an aurora is usually visible in the UK and why in its guidance. It says: "As the UK is south of where the natural aurora belt occurs (Norway/Iceland/Greenland), it takes a severe or extreme geomagnetic storm (Kp8-9+) to bring the belt southwards directly over the UK. This is a very rare occurrence. During more moderate to strong geomagnetic storms (Kp6-7), the Aurora borealis often moves southwards across southern Iceland or towards the Faeroes. These auroras can be faintly visible from the UK because they occur at high altitudes."
The Met Office advises that you need a clear night with no cloud cover, find a dark location with no light pollution, look toward the northern horizon, and be cautious that geomagnetic activity can cause disturbances to satellite navigation (GNSS/GPS etc).
