Aurora Borealis could light up Scotland's skies on Valentine's Day
As Valentine’s weekend approaches, Scots might get an extra treat from an unlikely source. While your beau may take you out for a nice meal or give you a heartfelt present, another gift could be right above your head.
That's because the Northern Lights look set to appear in the coming days. A surge in solar activity is expected to bring this stunning natural phenomenon to the skies of north Europe, with Scots in with a chance of witnessing the spellbinding aurora borealis overhead.
The ethereal lightshow occurs when charged particles from the sun are drawn towards the poles by Earth's magnetic field, where they interact with atoms and molecules in the upper atmosphere, creating the dazzling displays.
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While the Northern Lights have been visible over Scotland in the past few days, the northern regions will have further opportunities to witness them again as we head into the weekend. While clouds may limit viewing for many, clearer skies in northern and western Scotland offer a much better chance to catch a glimpse of the aurora borealis.
Earlier this week, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration warned of the arrival of a solar wind, which is being released from a hole in the sun’s outer corona layer.
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted a weak disturbance in Earth's magnetic field on Thursday and Friday, caused by the incoming Coronal Hole High-Speed Stream. This means auroras could brighten the skies in northern Europe and parts of North America during the next few days.
“Periods of enhanced aurora are possible due to ongoing fast solar winds,” the Met Office said on Wednesday. For the UK, northern regions could see even more opportunities to catch a glimpse of the aurora over the coming nights.
To measure the level of geomagnetic activity on Earth, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration uses the Kp index, a scale from zero to nine. This index tracks the strength of Northern Lights, with values between zero and two indicating weak auroras visible only near the poles.
A Kp of three to five suggests a moderate aurora, visible further south. When the Kp reaches six to nine, strong auroras can be spotted at much lower latitudes than usual.
According to the agency, “The greatest observed three-hour Kp over the past 24 hours was four.” For Thursday and Friday, the Kp is expected to hit 4.67, potentially triggering a weak geomagnetic storm and a moderate aurora on Friday.
In the UK, clearer skies in northern and western Scotland offer a “much better chance” of witnessing the aurora, the Met Office added. Recent months have seen a rise in space weather events as the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year activity cycle, when sunspots, solar flares, and solar storms increase in frequency.
