Aurora Borealis could be seen again over Britain after solar storm

The Northern Lights could once again dazzle the night sky as consistent solar storms from the sun are set to create ideal conditions for this celestial spectacle.

Stargazers could be in for a treat in early June, especially between the 6th and 9th, due to the sun’s 27-day rotation cycle. Recent solar storms haven’t affected us, but as the sun rotates back into position with continued activity, we may see a repeat of these amazing lights.

A significant solar event was detected on May 20 by the European Space Agency’s Solar Orbiter spacecraft, which observed a major solar flare occurring behind the sun. This X12-class flare is the most intense since September 2017, and scientists suggest it could herald a series of powerful solar flares.

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Visibility forecasts from the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute indicate that the aurora could be seen in parts of the US, Europe and Canada. Potential European viewing spots include Norway, Sweden and cities such as Trondheim, Oslo, Stockholm and Helsinki.

Solar physicist Ryan French of the National Solar Observatory in Boulder, Colorado, shared news of the flare on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. French noted, “Although not visible to Earth, ancient AR 13664 (responsible for recent solar storms) has just erupted from its largest eruption yet! Measured by the Solar Orbiter spacecraft behind the Sun, the eruption is estimated to be of class X12, this eruption. it also caused a huge CME behind the Sun,” the Mirror reports.

The solar flare in question is a colossal sunspot, dwarfing our planet by 15 times the width of Earth. These sunspots originate from intense magnetic activity on the sun, and solar flares are the result of a sudden release of energy from these magnetic fields, leading to what is called a “solar storm.” If the sunspot is in front of the Earth, it becomes visible from our point of view.

A solar physicist has indicated that this particular sunspot should reappear from Earth on June 6. The timing of the previous solar storm coincided with the new moon, which provided optimal conditions for viewing the northern lights due to darker skies.

During a new moon phase, the absence of moonlight creates an ideal backdrop for aurora viewing. In a conversation with Live Science, French explained, “As soon as the sunspots start to appear, we’ll enter the window of opportunity (for viewing the auroras).”

“Earth is most affected by solar storms when sunspots reach the center of the sun as seen from our planet. That’s exactly where it produced all those big eruptions.”

“However, we could still be affected if another solar flare is as intense as this one. But in theory, if you had a big enough flare, even if it’s to the left of the center of the sun, we could still get to the edge of that impact.”

There is the potential for more solar flares to erupt from this sunspot in the coming months, which could increase opportunities to witness the Northern Lights beyond their typical locations.

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