Pexels/PixabayA cold front is making its way towards the UK right now, just in time for the weekend, which is nice and considerate of it. Pesky weather.
However, for some people in the UK, it’s not all bad, as it means the stunning Northern Lights, or aurora borealis if you’re that way inclined, will be visible in some areas.
The cold front means, yep, that the weekend is going to be cooler than usual for this time in the year, but just behind the cold front follows some clear skies – hence the opportunity to spot the groovy green lights.
The Met Office shared the news, saying the light spectacle will be visible to residents of Scotland, depending on cloud cover.
The skies are predicted to be especially clear in the Scottish Highlands, as well as to the east, in Dundee and Aberdeen. Though they could also be visible in Glasgow and Edinburgh.
If you are in Scotland this weekend, you're in with the chance of seeing the #northernlights
Keep an eye on the cloud cover where you are using our forecast map
https://t.co/7tT11rgZEl https://t.co/q7kVpnh0LN
— Met Office (@metoffice) March 21, 2019
The Northern Lights appear after disturbances in the Earth’s magnetosphere – the region of space around the Earth that is dominated by the planet’s magnetic field.
The disturbances are the result of particles flowing from the Sun and gathering around the Earth’s magnetic poles.
Being able to see them as far south as the UK is rare, and is the result of an ‘ejection of plasma’ from the Sun, known as a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), following a solar flare that occurred earlier this week.
Bonnie Diamond, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said, via the Evening Standard:
A Coronal Mass Ejection has happened and the effects of that are expected to arrive later tomorrow evening.
This type of active geomagnetic storm means that there is the possibility of the aurora borealis, commonly known as the Northern Lights.
PixabayBonnie added:
Whether or not you will see the Northern Lights depends on where you are and what the weather is like. Scotland is where you’re most likely to see it.
There’s a couple of showers on the west coast of Scotland on Saturday evening, and with those showers there will be a bit of cloud.
However, the clearest skies are further east in Aberdeenshire, where there are plenty of clear skies. Further north, you’re pretty likely to see something.
It might be a cold weekend, but at least it’ll look good (if you’re in Scotland).
Elsewhere in the UK it’s going to be rainy on Saturday but brighter on Sunday so, y’know, swings and roundabouts.
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