How to see the Northern Lights in the UK this week

The Northern Lights is set to put in another appearance this week, after it stunned people across the UK in May.

Britons could get the chance to see the Northern Lights again, with spectacular display set to return to the night skies this week.

The lights could put in an appearance as early as tonight (29 July), according to the Met Office, and could be spotted over the next four days.

It comes after people across the country were wowed by a rare display over the UK in May, when the aurora borealis was visible for the first time across the UK in 20 years.

Delta Aquaria meteor shower: where to look. See story SCIENCE DeltaAquariids embargoed to 0001 July 29. Infographic PA Graphics. An editable version of this graphic is available if required. Please contact graphics@pamediagroup.com.
Where to look to see the Delta Aquaria meteor shower in the early hours of Tuesday. (PA)

It depends where you live – not only geographically but how much light pollution there is – but there is a chance you could spot the Northern Lights tonight (29 July).

According to the Met Office, there's also a stronger chance of seeing the Northern Lights on Wednesday, (31 July).

It said the best spot to see the Northern Lights will be in Scotland – though it may be possible to see it in Northern Ireland, as well as potentially in northern England or north Wales.

The best time and place to view the Northern Lights is in areas away from light pollution (i.e. outside of urban areas) and facing north.

North-facing coasts produce some of the best locations to view the display. The Met Office says the best time to view is when the sky is completely dark and clear of any clouds.

You might have seen some amazing pictures of the Northern Lights, but wondered why you couldn't see them quite as clearly.

That's because your mobile phone's camera can "see" the Northern Lights far better than you, which means you may not be able to see them but you can get some amazing shots.

Modern mobile phone cameras have excellent low-light sensitivity so we can take photos in poorly-lit places - but that also makes them great for something like this, providing you use 'night mode'.

On iPhone, 'night mode' should activate automatically in low-light conditions (you'll see a yellow icon on screen).

This means the camera will take several shots, and put the 'best bits' together into one photo – often producing a Northern Lights image better than anything seen by the naked eye.

In May, the skies over the UK were lit up in a brilliant pink and green from the Northern Lights thanks to a violent solar storm.

The Northern Lights were visible in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and even southern England.

Coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, are large clouds of solar plasma and magnetic fields released into space after a solar eruption.

Stretching over millions of miles, they can cause northern lights when they hit Earth’s atmosphere.