Northern Lights Seen Across UK as Far South as Kent — SkimNews
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- Aurora borealis displays illuminated UK skies on Friday and Saturday evening, visible as far south as Devon, Hampshire, and Kent — well beyond their usual Arctic Circle and northern Scotland range.
- The Met Office said sightings could continue during clear skies until Tuesday across Scotland and similar geomagnetic longitudes.
- Aurora displays occur when charged particles from solar wind collide with gases in Earth's upper atmosphere around the magnetic poles, the Met Office explained.
- Oxygen produces green and, at higher altitudes, rare red auroras, while nitrogen creates blue and purple hues, according to the forecaster.
- The sun emits charged particles as solar wind traveling at about 1 million mph, which funnel toward the magnetic poles when the solar wind's polarity opposes Earth's magnetic field.
- Experts said 2026 will be a peak year for aurora-spotting as the sun reaches heightened activity in its 11-year natural cycle.
Why it matters: The aurora's visibility as far south as Devon and Kent is an unusually strong geomagnetic event, and with 2026 forecast as a solar cycle peak year, heightened aurora activity will be the backdrop for UK sky-gazing over the coming year.
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