UK to enjoy Northern Lights tonight - but Brits must close bedroom windows amid serious warning
The Northern Lights were once the preserve of pricey trips to Iceland beloved by celebs, but the spectacular light show is going to be visible in parts of the UK tonight, the Met Office have announced. So now you don't need to be Kate Ferdinand (though the bikini while watching them is optional).
The weather service said the best times to catch the Northern Lights are on Thursday evening or the early hours of Friday. The colourful patterns in the sky, caused by particules colliding with gases around the earth's magnetic poles, are best viewed between 11pm and 2am.
All you need to do is simply go outside and look north, with cameraphones sometimes helping to enhance the view. However, there are certain spots that are going to get a better look than others.
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Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England in the celestial front row when it comes to the UK, with towns lower down the country having lower likelihood of a sighting.
The Met Office explained: "You might want to look north tonight as there’s a chance of seeing the northern lights. Clear skies for most overnight will make for ideal viewing conditions and sightings are possible as far south as northern England."
Unable to conclude without a mention of the weather, they added: "If you do decide to head out you’ll probably want a couple of extra layers though as tonight is expected to be the coldest night of the week!"
The service also posted an animation showing the times the northern lights are likely to appear and the probability of seeing them from different parts of the UK - again suggesting Scotland is the best placed part of the country to be.
It comes after a warning that temperatures are going to plunge later today - with people who are older or have health conditions - told to close their bedroom windows overnight so as not to be caught out by falling temperatures.
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Public Health England also advises keeping the temperature at home set to 18C, not sit for more than an hour at a time, enjoy hot drinks and wear several layers of thinner clothing instead of one thicker one.
Latest BBC forecasts suggest temperatures are going to turn cold on Thursday night in particular before cloudy conditions on Friday.