Manchester skies could be painted green tonight (May 10) due to a spectacular display of the Northern Lights. 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 this evening, so let’s hope we will get plenty of aurora sightings throughout the dark hours.
Why will the Aurora Borealis be visible?
The Northern Lights are expected to light up the skies tonight across the UK as the Earth is about to experience the strongest solar storm recorded since 2005. The US agency National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has described the occurrence as a “severe solar storm” and as a result, it could provide one of the best viewing opportunities to see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) for the whole of the UK, including Manchester.
A sunspot, an area of high solar activity, 16 times wider than Earth, has a number of solar flares and complex Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) which are currently heading towards planet Earth and trigger geomagnetic storms which result in the Aurora.
When will the Northern Lights be visible in Manchester?
It’s due to arrive tonight (May 10) but may continue to be seen on Saturday night (May 11) too. According to The Met Office, “Multiple Earth-directed Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) were observed leaving the Sun between 08 and 09 May. Due to the differing speed of the various CMEs many are expected to combine into a single larger arrival towards the end of the UTC day on Friday 10th May or early Saturday 11th May.”
And like every aurora borealis event, it’s all about how clear the skies are. The Met Office added: “Where skies are clear and provided dark enough skies, sightings are expected to develop following the CME arrival across the northern half of the UK, with a chance that aurora may become visible to all parts of the UK and similar geomagnetic latitudes. Enhanced activity is expected to persist, but at reduced levels through the night 11th into 12th May (Saturday into Sunday). Aurora activity may remain enhanced after this given the potential for further Earth-directed CMEs in the coming days.”
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*).
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.
However, experts from the Icelandic Tour Company Bókun have studied the light pollution levels of each major UK city along with elevation to reveal the UK cities with the best chance of spotting the Auroras. Some may be surprised but Manchester was named one of the top cities in the UK to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights.
By ranking light pollution levels and elevation of every UK major city, Bókun revealed that Birmingham and Leeds ranked joint first place for the areas most likely to see the Northern Lights. Birmingham has the fourth lowest light pollution levels out of all major cities and comes second in the UK for elevation, meanwhile Leeds ranks second lowest for light pollution and fourth overall for elevation. Should the Northern Lights appear in either of these two cities, they will appear brighter and more clear to see.
In second place, the North East city of Newcastle Upon Tyne was also very likely to be able to see the Northern Lights as the light pollution levels in the area are one of the lowest. Coming in third place was Manchester due to having an elevation of 52 metres and being the fifth lowest for light pollution levels.
The sun is not due to set until 8.55pm tonight and the weather is set to remain dry overnight with clear spells across the region.
You can find more detailed, up-to-the-minute information here.