• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Best way to watch the Northern Lights as Met Office says people will have 'greatest likelihood' of seeing them tonight

Home> News> UK News> Weather

Published 10:43 5 Oct 2024 GMT+1

Best way to watch the Northern Lights as Met Office says people will have 'greatest likelihood' of seeing them tonight

Those dancing green lines are back

Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper

Featured Image Credit: (Getty Stock Images)

Topics: Weather, UK News

Brenna Cooper
Brenna Cooper

Brenna Cooper is a journalist at LADbible. She graduated from the University of Sheffield with a degree in History, followed by an NCTJ accredited masters in Journalism. She began her career as a freelance writer for Digital Spy, where she wrote about all things TV, film and showbiz. Her favourite topics to cover are music, travel and any bizarre pop culture.

X

@_brencoco

Advert

Advert

Advert

Here is the best way to maximise your chances of seeing the Northern Lights this weekend, following the Met Office's latest update.

Earlier this year, the Northern Lights - or Aurora Borealis if we're being scientific - decided to migrate south and light up our skies. The following few days saw the nation divided into two camps, those who had seen the Northern Lights and those who wasted no time in telling everyone and anyone that seeing the Northern Lights was overrated.

But if you've been unlucky in your Aurora spotting so far don't you worry! The Met Office has announced that another explosion of geomagnetic activity is happening in our skies, with tonight (5 October) being our best chance at seeing those dancing green lines.

Explaining why tonight is our best bet to spot the lights, Space Weather Manager Krista Hammond told The Mirror: "There is the potential for a coronal mass ejection to arrive at Earth late on Friday or early on Saturday, which could lead to visible aurora for Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of northern England. In addition, we recently observed an X9 solar flare – the largest of this solar cycle so far."

Explaining why Saturday would have the strongest possibility of seeing the Northern Lights, she continued: "Saturday night has the greatest likelihood of aurora being visible, with a chance that aurora may be visible further south, across central England and similar latitudes.

Advert

Don't be expecting to see this from your back garden (Getty Stock Images)
Don't be expecting to see this from your back garden (Getty Stock Images)

"Enhancement to the aurora may persist at higher latitudes throughout the remainder of the outlook period."

What is the best way to watch the Northern Lights?

So you're probably wondering what do I need to do in order to catch the Northern Lights? Turns out there's quite a few things.

First of all you'll need a clear night sky as you're not going to be able to see the lights through the clouds, so make sure to check the weather before heading out into your back garden at 2am.

Advert

If you're lucky enough to have a clear sky, the next thing you need to do is whip out your phone.

You may already be aware of this but the Northern Lights often looks a lot more impressive in photos than it does to the naked eye (talk about catfishing, nature edition), so a camera with a long exposure setting is a must have.

"Cameras help as the long exposure allows loads of light in and enhances the colours more than the human eye can see," a spokesperson for the Met Office explained.

This is more accurate image of what you could see (Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)
This is more accurate image of what you could see (Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

"That is why you see pictures as far south as Cornwall sometimes though you’re unlikely to see it with the naked eye that far south."

Advert

So there you have it, your best shot at seeing the Northern Lights is through your mobile phone camera, which at this point you may as well just stick to looking at pictures on Google.

Choose your content:

4 hours ago
5 hours ago
6 hours ago
  • 4 hours ago

    Viral judge Frank Caprio passes away aged 88

    He passed away after a battle with pancreatic cancer

    News
  • 5 hours ago

    Teacher made eerie warning about Bryan Kohberger weeks before quadruple murder of students

    The revelation was made in a newly surfaced police report

    News
  • 6 hours ago

    Missing woman from US discovered alive thousands of miles away after joining tribe in Scottish woodland

    The American woman was found to be a handmaiden in a three-person tribe

    News
  • 6 hours ago

    Drake and Adin Ross to cover funeral costs after streamer dies on live stream following 'ten days and nights of torture'

    French police are currently investigating the death of streamer Raphaël Graven, aka Jean Pormanove

    News
  • There's another chance to spot the Northern Lights tonight as Met Office reveals best UK places to see them
  • Met Office issues Brits warning about likelihood of being able to see Northern Lights this weekend
  • Red alert issued for Northern Lights in UK tonight as best places to spot them revealed
  • Northern lights could be visible in UK to see in new year, Met Office confirms