Last night (October 10), people across the UK including Greater Manchester were treated to a stunning display of the Northern Lights. Spectacular hues of reds, pinks, purples, blues and greens were spotted across the skies on Thursday evening and into the early hours of Friday due to the aurora borealis – however Greater Manchester may be in with a chance to see the Northern Lights again going into the weekend.
The lights could also be seen as far south as Devon and on the continent including countries such as Spain thanks to clear skies creating good visibility of the aurora. With the rare STEVE phenomenon also occurring recently and earlier sightings of the Northern Lights, it’s been quite the month (and year) for space weather events, due to the sun nearing the peak of its solar cycle.
Credit: @rock_fotograph
What causes the Northern Lights?
The Northern Lights occur as a result of solar activity and from collisions of charged particles in the solar wind colliding with molecules in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Depending on which gas molecules are hit and where they are in the atmosphere, different amounts of energy are released as different wavelengths of light.
According to the Met Office, “Oxygen gives off green light when it is hit 60 miles above the Earth, whilst at 100-200 miles rare, all-red auroras are produced. Nitrogen causes the sky to glow blue yet when higher in the atmosphere the glow has a purple hue.”
Will Greater Manchester be able to see the Northern Lights again tonight?
Now the big question on everyone’s minds is will we be able to see this beautiful spectacle again? According to The Met Office, solar activity has returned to “moderate levels”, with last night being one of the strongest in terms of activity and visibility. However, the forecaster said they could possibly appear between 10pm and 11pm on Friday night (October 11) too.
Credit: @richardstorey_photography
The Met Office aurora forecast says: “A fast coronal mass ejection related to a large flare and filament combination that left the Sun on 09 Oct arrived at Earth through the second half of 10 Oct and is having ongoing effects, including Severe Geomagnetic storms. Aurora has been sighted as far south as southern England and on the continent. The chances of aurora remain initially, though gradually easing through October 11, becoming increasingly confined to far northern geomagnetic latitudes by 13 October 13.”
Clear skies like the ones on Thursday night made Northern Lights sightings possible from almost everywhere in the UK, therefore we would need the same or similar conditions tonight. Although aurora activity may not be as visible as on the evening of October 10, there is an ongoing minor radiation storm meaning there is still a slight possibility of seeing the Northern Lights in Greater Manchester.
In terms of the current weather forecast in the North West, cloud is expected to build from the north bringing “a greater risk of showers, locally heavy, across Cumbria” but staying mostly dry elsewhere. And it will be rather chilly so wrap up if you’re on the hunt for the Northern Lights near you.