Britons have been treated to a rare light show this week as the Northern Lights spread ribbons of green and blue across the sky.
Usually, the aurora borealis can only be seen in the auroral oval – a ring of light that encircles Iceland, Canada, Alaska and the polar caps.
But the phenomenon could be seen elsewhere in the Northern Hemisphere this week as gigantic solar eruptions smack into Earth.
As scary as that sounds, these streams of energetic particles mingle with the planet’s invisible force field, the magnetic field, and create the lights.
Hazy pinks and purples were first spotted on Tuesday in the Shetland Islands, with northern and western Scotland catching a glimpse on Wednesday.
AuroraWatch UK recorded ‘minor geomagnetic activity’ overnight in northern Scotland.
Where can I see the Northern Lights tonight?
The Met Office is unsure if the universe will be putting on another light show for the UK tonight.
The weather service told Metro: ‘The strength of the aurora will weaken into tonight and tomorrow following a stronger showing earlier in the week.
‘While there may still be some residual aurora into tonight and tomorrow it won’t be as strong as this earlier this week.’
The odds of seeing the lights brighten a clear night sky are low enough, the Met Office says, let alone when it’s cloudy.
‘There is a lot of cloud over the UK at the moment and this will be the case this evening too,’ the weather agency said.
‘Shetland could be under clearer skies as well as some other parts of the far north of Scotland, but it doesn’t look like it’ll be a widely visible event.’
How can I see the Northern Lights?
For those planning to stay up and watch, the best method for seeing the aurora is to get away from street lights.
Use light pollution maps like this to find the darkest area near you.
Those in northern regions should track down a coastal spot or the top of a hill to have a clear view of the skies.
Why are we seeing the Northern Lights so often lately?
Last year and now in 2025, we are seeing a strangely wide swath of the Northern Hemisphere’s sky lit up with this brilliant show of colour.
The lights happen because of giant explosions on the surface of the sun, known as coronal mass ejections, which shoot particles into space.
These particles race through the Solar System at 1,000 miles per second and collide with particles trapped inside Earth’s magnetic field, creating a geomagnetic storm.
Gasses in the Earth’s atmosphere produce different colours when heated, causing an array of different coloured lights.
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The Sun undergoes an 11-year cycle of activity. During the ‘solar maximum’, the celestial body gets especially pumped up and spits out more particles than usual.
This is why, experts told Metro, more parts of the northern hemisphere like the UK are seeing the Northern Lights more than usual.
According to the latest Met Office space weather report, the Sun hasn’t shot out any ‘Earth directed’ coronal mass ejections in the last 24 hours.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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