Northern Lights visible in UK tonight - when and where to see them

Brits are in for a rare astronomical treat as the Northern Lights will be visible in the UK tonight. A "severe" geomagnetic storm may result in a stunning light display being visible for those in Britain, as experts say a coronal mass ejection (CME) is expected to arrive this evening. Residents in the northern UK will have a better opportunity of spotting the lights; however, there is a chance of sightings across southern England and Wales too.

This is the second night in a row that the colourful Northern Lights will be visible in the UK. Images taken last night show extraordinary sightings over Whitley Bay, Northamptonshire, and Sunderland as keen stargazers gear up for another astronomical phenomenon. Geomagnetic storms, which are triggered by charged particles from the Sun, are categorised by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) - these range from "minor" G1 to "extreme" G5.

Tonight, the geomagnetic storm may reach up to G4, which is categorised as severe. On Tuesday, the solar flare was flagged as the largest in 2025 so far, which came from sunspot AR4274.

Weather forecaster the Met Office said: "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. 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."

In England, the light display may be visible from 9pm to 6am in Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham, London, Brighton, Canterbury and Cornwall. Displays are likely at midnight in Newcastle and York.

In Scotland, the Northern Lights are likely from 9pm to 6am in Shetland, Edinburgh and Glasgow, the same as Cardiff, Shrewsbury and Llandudno in Wales.

In Northern Ireland, the aurora may be spotted at midnight in Belfast and Derry.

Spotting the lights from British ground is extremely rare. The Northern Lights are usually visible in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Greenland, Canada, the north of the American state of Alaska, and northern Siberia in Russia. However, the further north you are in the UK, the more likely you are to see the display.

The auroras display an incredible pattern of lights covering the night sky and often appear as green, purple, or faint red rays. These colours are created by two primary gases in the Earth's atmosphere: oxygen and nitrogen.

Oxygen causes a green light, and nitrogen gives off hints of purple or blue, while a red tint can also be seen when oxygen, very high up in the Earth's atmosphere, interacts with solar particles.