Northern Lights Light Up UK Skies as Far South as Kent — SkimNews
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- Aurora borealis illuminated skies across the UK on Friday and Saturday evening, with sky-gazers spotting the phenomenon as far south as Devon, Hampshire and Kent — far beyond its 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.
- Auroral displays are triggered when charged particles in the solar wind — which the Met Office says travels at about 1 million mph — collide with gases in Earth's upper atmosphere around the magnetic poles.
- Oxygen produces green and, at higher altitudes, rare red auroras, while nitrogen creates blue and purple hues, according to the Met Office's explanation of the colored process.
- The solar wind is funnelled toward the magnetic poles most strongly when its polarity is opposite to Earth's, the forecaster noted.
- Experts said 2026 is projected to be a peak year for aurora-spotting, as the sun has been in a heightened state of activity as part of its 11-year natural cycle.
Why it matters: The Met Office says sightings could persist through Tuesday across Scotland and similar longitudes, and with the sun in a heightened phase of its 11-year cycle, unusually southern displays like this could become more frequent — sky-gazers well outside the Arctic Circle may get repeat chances this year.
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