Northern Lights enter active period

It’s time for the bright lights to shine high above as the year’s aurora season begins in the Northern Hemisphere.

Across the Northern Hemisphere, auroras are best seen between September and April, and the further north you head, the better chance of witnessing the phenomena.

For those of us here in the UK & Ireland who don’t have the time or ability to head to Scandinavia, Canada, or Alaska can look to a spot closer to home. Northern Scotland rests on the same latitude as Alaska’s Nunivak Island and Stavanger in Norway.

It is possible to see an aurora away from the far north of Scotland, but it requires some luck. Most major cities have too much light pollution, so national parks such as the Lake District are ideal.

The Northern Lights can descend over England, Wales, and Ireland during times of increased solar activity, for example during geomagnetic storms.

During these storms, the sun hires tremendous amounts of solar materials from coronal mass ejections or sunspots, which react with the magnetosphere.

There is no guarantee that you will see this natural phenomenon, auroras appear above the cloud layer, so clear skies are needed.

This time of the year is considered aurora season for the early sunsets and long nights offering ideal conditions to spot the legendary glow.

Learn more on the mystical auroras with our Weather Explained below: