Northern Lights Could Become Visible in the UK and US Tonight Due to Winds Blown From a Giant Hole in the Sun's Atmosphere

For those who missed the Northern Lights last month, tonight is another chance to catch this stunning light show. On Friday, the Northern Lights, also known as aurora borealis, will be unusually visible far south in the United States and the United Kingdom due to a giant hole in the Sun's atmosphere.

Coronal Mass Ejections Increased Earth's Geomagnetic Activity

A report from the Space Weather Prediction Center indicates that Northern Lights may crawl further south when powerful solar winds approach, illuminating the skies with stunning hues, Science Alert reports.

The aurora forecast anticipated a "Kp index" of 6 on Friday as of Wednesday morning, which is a measure of the Northern Lights' power. These solar winds are emanating from the Sun's massive coronal hole, which is an area of the ultra-hot outer layer of the Sun's atmosphere that is cooler in temperature than its surroundings which is why it does not glow as brightly as other parts of the Sun.

Streams of charged particles known as solar winds could pass through this hole when the Sun's corona, the outermost layer of its atmosphere, becomes cooler and less dense. As per MailOnline, these particles then reached Earth's magnetic field which creates the vibrant colors of aurora when they interact with the atmosphere.

Two coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that erupted from the sun on March 20 arrived on Earth on early Thursday, March 23. CMEs are abrupt discharges of plasma and magnetic fields from the Sun's corona that can interact with the atmosphere to produce the Northern Lights.

While they were not visible, they did raise the Earth's geomagnetic activity from 'unsettled' to 'active,' increasing the likelihood of catastrophic solar storms.

This occurs when solar winds or CMEs have a large influence on the Earth's magnetic field to create blackouts or impair the electrical grid. The solar winds are expected to arrive through the giant hole in the Sun's atmosphere tonight and continue on Friday.

The Met Office predicts activity at 21:00 GMT today, 22:00 GMT tomorrow, and 00:00 GMT on Sunday, with activity, progressively decreasing. The Met Office forecasts that the Aurora enhancement is probable on the 22nd and 23rd when geomagnetic activity increases due to the solar winds.

However, there is some uncertainty about its arrival timing, as it could come at a later date. Passing impacts of glancing coronal mass ejections might boost it further.

Where To Expect Tonight's Northern Lights?

The coronal hole they found is very large that about 20 to 30 earths lined up could fit, NASA Goddard's Heliophysics Science Division associate director for science Alex Young told Insider.

When that massive hole grew over the corona, it blasted powerful, high-speed solar winds into space, heading towards the Earth. Such winds are not dangerous since the atmosphere protects us, and they are not powerful enough to cause widespread radio or power outages, as some major solar storms did in the past.

As a torrent of electrically charged particles known as "solar wind" strikes the poles and interacts with molecules in the atmosphere, the aurora borealis may occur in the sky from Washington to New York, lighting up the night with dazzling hues.

Meanwhile, the UK's Met Office confirmed that the arrival of solar winds could mean that the famous Northern Lights will be visible tonight as far as Edinburgh. Two powerful CMEs will also be visible on February 26 and 27 for stargazers in Kent and Cornwall.

Check out more news and information on Space in Science Times.