Northern Lights set to be visible in Sussex skies tonight

The Met Office says there will be a “Coronal Mass Ejection” tonight, Tuesday, April 15.

Aurora Borealis sightings have increased in recent years, with reports suggesting they will be visible again this evening.

If you want to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights, here is everything you need to know.

Northern Lights set to be visible in Sussex skies tonight

Discussing the arrival of the Northern Lights to the UK, the Met Office said: “The aurora is expected to be at normal background levels until the arrival of a Coronal Mass Ejection, most likely later on Tuesday April 15 and continuing into Wednesday, April 16.

“This is likely to bring the auroral oval to northern parts of the UK and similar geomagnetic latitudes, with a chance of some visibility towards the northern horizon for much of England.

“However, cloud cover over much of the UK will limit aurora viewings. The auroral oval will ease to background levels thereafter.”

The Northern Lights were visible over Sussex several times last year, making for some great photos from locals.

There are a number of good dark sky spots to stargaze, including Camber Sands beach and various spots in the South Downs.

The Met Office says it will be cloudy this evening in Southeast England with the chance of further showers or spells of rain. 

What causes the Northern Lights?

The Royal Museums Greenwich explained: “Solar storms on our star’s surface give out huge clouds of electrically charged particles. These particles can travel millions of miles, and some may eventually collide with the Earth.

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“Most of these particles are deflected away, but some become captured in the Earth’s magnetic field, accelerating down towards the north and south poles into the atmosphere. This is why aurora activity is concentrated at the magnetic poles.”

Royal Observatory astronomer, Tom Kerss added: “These particles then slam into atoms and molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere and essentially heat them up.

“We call this physical process ‘excitation’, but it’s very much like heating a gas and making it glow.”