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10th May 2024
04:00pm BST
A huge solar storm will mean the Northern Lights could be visible across Ireland and the UK this weekend, according to weather forecasters.
On Friday and Saturday, a rare and intense solar storm will hit Earth, meaning - according to Met Éireann - that there is a "good chance" of seeing the aurora borealis from Ireland tonight "especially in the northern half of the country".
In a Twitter post, the Irish meteorological service also said: "With clear spells forecast for tonight, it is a really good opportunity to look out for it.
"Look north and get away from light pollution in cities or towns."
👀☝️🌃
— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) May 10, 2024
With clear spells forecast for tonight🌛 there's a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights ☄️💫especially in the northern half of the country
Find out more about Northern Lights ℹ️👉https://t.co/0ZLtcfxxxT and @petertgallagher 👇@DIASAstronomy https://t.co/qTlZSV6I99 pic.twitter.com/tUxZluPgom
And if you miss it tonight, you may get another chance to see the phenomenon again over the weekend.
Weather expert Alan O’Reilly of Carlow Weather on X backed up Met Éireann by saying: "Chances of seeing Northern Lights tonight and tomorrow night remain high."
However, he also cautioned: "Fog could cause issues for some and more cloud tomorrow night could block the view.
"The risk of power outages is very low here despite what some clickbait posts might say."
Chances of seeing Northern Lights tonight and tomorrow night remain high but fog could cause issues for some and more cloud tomorrow night could block the view. The risk of power outages is very low here despite what some clickbait posts might say. https://t.co/vZxD1uhdCY
— Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) May 10, 2024
The celestial phenomenon will be caused by at least five coronal mass ejections (CMEs) from the Sun.
CMEs send out electrically charged particles which become trapped in by the Earth’s magnetic field.
These trapped particles then smash into atoms in the Earth's atmosphere, heating them up in process - which causes the bright colours we know as the Northern Lights.
The upcoming solar event is set to be one of the most significant in years with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center classifying it as a level G4 event.
There is reportedly a risk that such geomagnetic storms could cause disruptions to radio communications, GPS and power grids on Earth.
“Several coronal mass ejections (CME) will quite likely reach Earth and lead to highly elevated geomagnetic activity,” the forecast from NOAA states.
“Watches at this level are very rare.”
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