Manchester skies could be painted green tonight (April 17) due to a spectacular display of the Northern Lights, marking the start of spring. What’s more, those who are keen for an evening stroll or a night hike can adventure outside into the low-light parts of Greater Manchester. And if you’re lucky, you will be able to witness the Northern Lights tonight, as the chances are pretty high for parts of Northern England between 6pm on April 17 and 3am on April 18, so let’s hope we will get plenty of aurora sightings throughout the dark hours.
The Met Office said: “Aurora may be visible in the far north of Scotland on Wednesday 17 Apr overnight into Thursday 18 Apr, with a chance that aurora may become visible more widely across Scotland as well as Northern Ireland and parts of northern England.
“The best chance for clear skies will be across mainland Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, although more western areas should see cloud amounts generally increasing through the second half of the night.”
AuroraWatch UK, which is based in Lancaster and north of Manchester, also recorded minor geomagnetic activity last night (April 16), issuing a red alert meaning “aurora likely”… or to you and me, might see Northern Lights.
Where to watch the Northern Lights in Manchester
Now, we must stress, that for much of Manchester the sky will look just the same as it normally does. It’s incredibly rare for the Northern Lights to be visible in the city, but the Met Office has said there is a CHANCE (*insert Jim Carrey GIF here*), and they were actually spotted as far south as Devon last night, so we’ve got our fingers crossed.
Any Mancs hoping to see the geomagnetic storm will need to find somewhere with minimal light pollution and clear view of the northern horizon – so perhaps head to your nearest hill.
A good place to start aurora hunting would be away from light pollution and facing the northern hemisphere. However, as the nights are way shorter now, the chances are, understandably smaller to witness aurora borealis during spring and summer time.
It is advised that aurora hunters steer away from the city lights for the best chances of seeing the majestic space phenomena. So the chance may be a little slim unlike parts of Scotland, but we might just get a glimpse of the Northern Lights from Manchester tonight.
The sun is not due to set until 8.14pm tonight and the night sky is expected to be clear in Northern England all evening − so let’s hope for the best. You can find more detailed, up-to-the-minute information here.