Northern Lights set to dazzle UK this week due to possible 'severe' geomagnetic storm

There is a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights in the early hours of Wednesday or on Wednesday night in many parts of the UK.

That is because the Sun is going through an active phase experiencing a number of eruptions, called Coronal Mass Ejections. These send solar particles towards the Earth.

It is the interaction of these particles with the Earth's atmosphere that create the stunning light displays we see in the night sky.

According to the UK Met Office Space Weather forecast, the best chance of seeing the Northern Lights or aurora will be across the northern half of the UK. But there is also a chance in clear skies further south.

Geomagnetic storms are disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field that last minutes or hours and are caused by Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and solar flares.

It has been reported that there are three CMEs heading towards Earth from the Sun.

The National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who measure the strength of these storms, say that there is chance of a Strong G3 or even Severe G4 geomagnetic storm being triggered especially on Wednesday into Thursday.

Although dangerous for astronauts, geomagnetic storms are not harmful to humans as Earth's atmosphere protects us from the radiation.

However, these storms can sometimes disrupt satellites and also different forms of electronic devices, such as phones.

For example, in 2017 two massive solar flares fired out from the surface of the Sun disrupted devices such as GPS navigation systems on Earth.

And the Victorians also struggled with the effect of space weather in 1859 when a huge solar eruption caused a geomagnetic storm that interfered with railway signalling and telegraph lines. This was known as the Carrington Event.

The KP index is an alternative measure of geomagnetic activity extending from KP1 to KP9. It can be be used to denote the southern extent of the aurora. This storm is classed as a rare KP8. This means the aurora could be visible across many parts of the UK including the south in the nights to come.

There may be effects on power grids and satellite navigation.

Coronal Mass Ejections are huge bursts of charged plasma travelling at millions of miles an hour that explode out of the Sun's outer atmosphere or corona.

They spew light, energy and solar material into space, sometimes towards Earth, which is the case this week.

The solar material, or plasma, is charged. These charged particles can interact with gases in the Earth's atmosphere, particularly near the poles, leading to the displays of aurora.

These ejections can sometimes take days to reach the Earth.

In addition on Tuesday, the US National Weather Service Space Weather Prediction Center reported seeing a massive solar flare on the Sun - likely the strongest of the current cycle.

Solar flares are bursts of electromagnetic radiation that travel from the Sun at the speed of light, reaching Earth in just over eight minutes.

These can also cause aurora.

To see the aurora find a dark spot with minimal light pollution and a good view of the northern horizon. The aurora is sometimes more clearly viewed through a camera lens.

You will also need clear skies. So what is in the forecast?

On Tuesday night there will always be the risk of some cloud around but clear skies should develop in southern and north-eastern Scotland as a weather front clears southwards. Northern England and Northern Ireland will also see some clear skies in the second half of the night.

There could also be some clearer spells developing across Wales, the Midlands and perhaps south-west England later in the night.

We are less likely to see clear skies overnight on Wednesday although there could be some early on for East Anglia and later for northern Scotland.

If you are not lucky enough to catch the Aurora Borealis this time, keep an eye out for further alerts here at BBC Weather.