There is a “good chance” the Northern Lights will be on display in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland this weekend and may even treat parts of northern England and Wales, the Met Office has said.

The forecaster suggests the phenomenon, also known as the Aurora Borealis, is most likely to be on show on Saturday night into Sunday.

“Auroral displays down to Scotland, Northern Ireland and similar geomagnetic latitudes are likely, and perhaps extending to include parts of northern England and Wales,” it said.

But stargazers are being warned that cloud cover could impact visibility.

What’s the weather going to be in your area?

The phenomenon can be notoriously hard to spot with the naked eye – even in countries such as Norway and Iceland where sightings are more common.

However, it can occasionally be seen in the UK.

Northern Lights could be visible for parts of the UK until Saturday

Last week the Northern Lights flooded skies across the UK with colour during bonfire night weekend.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

The Met Office confirmed the phenomenon had been “observed across Scotland” and was “clearly visible from Shetland webcams”.

Sightings were also “reported across some central and eastern parts of England” last Sunday night, the weather agency said.

An array of pink and yellow hues were even reportedly seen as far south as Stonehenge in Wiltshire.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Read more:
Spectacular photos capture Northern Lights across UK
‘Aurora chaser’ explains Northern Lights
Rare baby blue spiral resembling galaxy seen in Alaska

According to the Royal Observatory Greenwich, different gases determine what colours light up the sky, with nitrogen and oxygen being the primary gases in Earth’s atmosphere.

Green in the aurora is a characteristic of solar energy interacting with oxygen, while purple, blue or pink hues are caused by nitrogen.

A deep red can sometimes be seen when the aurora is “particularly energetic”, as a result of very high altitude oxygen interacting with solar particles.

Related posts:

Terms like ‘white privilege’ may contribute to ‘neglect’ of disadvantaged white pupils, report finds Sajid Javid under pressure for holding share options in health tech firm ‘I’m deeply sorry’: Police officer apologises to families of Port victims over missed opportunities Storm Arwen: Thousands left ‘exhausted’ as they endure fifth day without power England Women humiliate Latvia 20-0 on record-breaking night for Lionesses and Ellen White Gay rights activist’s appeal in long-running cake dispute ruled ‘inadmissible’ MP Margaret Ferrier to stand trial accused of visiting salon, leisure centre and church while having COVID symptoms COVID epicentre moves from London to North West and more older people being hospitalised NI Assembly fails to elect new speaker after DUP leader blocks formation of government Boy, 12, who suffered brain damage should have test to establish if he is dead, High Court rules Child psychiatrist ‘did not sleep well’ after viewing online content seen by Molly Russell Shetland Islands tunnel plan at ‘advanced’ stage