Northern Lights could be visible over Nottingham tonight - what time to look out

The Northern Lights are expected to be visible across the UK this weekend, with the likes of Nottingham, Scotland and Northern Ireland all set to be able to see the natural light show

This weekend, the UK might be treated to a 'breathtaking' display of the Northern Lights, owing to recent solar flare activity. Referred to as aurora borealis, the spectacle is expected to be most apparent in Scotland and Northern Ireland, but there's promising news for stargazers in Nottinghamshire and northern England too.

Moreover, prospects are ripe for the lights to extend further south, similar to the occurrence in May, amplified by intense solar action. The Met Office suggests that "Saturday night has the greatest likelihood of aurora sightings further south, across central England".

For those eager to witness the celestial dance of green and purple hues, the best time is typically from 11pm to 12am onwards. Silvia Dalla, professor of solar physics at the University of Central Lancashire, advises: "To maximise your chances of viewing the aurora, the sky needs to be as clear as possible," and adds, "Look northwards and try to find a place with dark skies, ideally away from a city where light pollution can interfere with the view."

A significant solar flare on Thursday is accountable for this anticipated surge in space weather activity, resulting in the magical auroral displays when solar storms interact with Earth's atmospheric gases. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which keeps a constant eye on the Sun, recorded an impressive energy burst on Thursday, reports the Manchester Evening News.

Flares and solar eruptions can disrupt radio communications, affect electric power grids, navigation signals and pose risks to spacecraft and astronauts. The recent flare is an intense X9.0 class, as noted by NASA that X-class flares are the most powerful.

Prof Dalla remarked: "Solar flares and fast coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are large expulsions of plasma and magnetic fields. This strong geomagnetic activity results in breath-taking displays of the Northern Lights. If we get a repeat of the solar situation we saw in mid-May, we will potentially see more spell-bounding auroral activity across the UK skies."

Space scientist Dr Steph Yardley from Northumbria University discussed the active region on the Sun responsible for these flares: "This region on the Sun is one to watch as it has been quite active over the past few days, previously producing another strong flare on October 1 that was also associated with a solar eruption."

"Both eruptions associated with the strong flares are Earth-directed and we expect them to impact us sometime between October 4-6, meaning auroras might be visible in Scotland and North England during this period."