Discussing the likelihood of sightings, the Met Office said in its space weather forecast: “Aurora is increasingly likely to become visible from Scotland and similar geomagnetic latitudes by 7 November.”
It added that there is “a chance of aurora being seen from Northern Ireland and Northern England, and a slight chance of glimpses from Wales and Central England.”
According to Icelandair, the best time to see the Northern Lights will be from 9pm tonight (Friday, November 7) until around midnight on Saturday, given the skies are clear.
How to get photos of the Northern Lights?
The airliner has shared a step-by-step guide on how to get photos of the Northern Lights if you’re lucky enough to see them.
- Enable night mode on your device (this usually appears in a low-lit setting as an icon in the top left corner next to the flash).
- Turn off the flash setting.
- Enable max. exposure Tap the arrow at the top of the screen to open the settings menu, which will appear at the bottom. Here, you’ll find the exposure setting, represented by the night mode icon.
- Tap the +/- icon in the same menu to adjust the exposure level to a negative value. Finding the correct setting will take some trial and error, but -0.7 is a good starting point.
- Rotate your iPhone horizontally to capture a wider image. Try to keep your hands as still as possible or consider using a tripod to avoid any blurry images.
Recommended Reading:
These are the 7 hotspots you need to go to see the Northern Lights this year
How can you take a photo of the Northern Lights? (A guide for beginners)
Why have Northern Lights sightings become more frequent in recent years?
What are the Northern Lights?
The Northern Lights are usually caused by atoms and molecules in our atmosphere colliding with particles from the Sun, according to the Royal Museum Greenwich.
It adds that the light’s wavy patterns are created by force lines in the Earth’s magnetic field, with the different colours created by different gases.
The lowest area of the Aurora is normally around 80 miles from Earth, whilst the top could be hundreds of miles above the planet.
Usually, Scotland is the only part of the UK lucky enough to see the wonderful sight, but the Northern Lights can also be seen in the South of England on rare occasions.
