Northern Lights 'may still be visible' in the UK tonight - see the latest Met Office forecast for Manchester
The Met Office reports that the Northern Lights may still be visible tonight across parts of the UK. See the forecast for Manchester.
Manchester was illuminated by the breathtaking Northern Lights on Monday night (January 19), with locals capturing stunning photos of the celestial display at popular beauty spots.
The Northern Lights are caused by charged particles from the sun hitting gases in the Earth’s atmosphere and occur when the solar wind carrying the particles interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field. The best place to see the Aurora Borealis is usually around the North Pole region, however, they can sometimes be seen from the UK.
On Monday night, huge swathes of the country saw the incredible phenomenon and headed to local beauty spots to snap wonderful pictures. The Met Office said the aurora was the result of a strong Coronal Mass Ejection (CME).
In a statement this morning, the Met Office said the Northern Lights “may still be visible” tonight (January 20) in parts of the UK. It said auroral activity is “expected to decline” by this evening but may be visible in parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, and other similar latitudes with clear skies.
It looks unlikely that Manchester will be dazzled by the aurora again tonight, with the Met Office adding: “Auroras are then forecast to return to background levels for the remainder of the period.”