How to get notifications on your phone so you don’t miss the Northern Lights

There were two wonderful nights of northern lights in the UK – and Friday was particularly intense. But many were frustrated because they didn’t find out in time that it was happening and missed the opportunity of a lifetime.

Afterwards, people said it was a “bucket list” event – ​​it showed how important it was to see the natural phenomenon. There’s a way to make sure you don’t miss it in the future – by downloading a free app to your phone.

AuroraWatch UK is a free service that provides alerts about when the Northern Lights might be visible from the UK. It is led by scientists from the Space and Planetary Physics group in the Department of Physics at Lancaster University.

You can find it in your phone’s app store called AuroraWatch UK Aurora Alerts. When you download it, you will receive a notification on your phone when there is activity that is likely to lead to the Northern Lights. A red alert was sent out on Saturday, which you can see below.

This weekend the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, appeared after the Met Office confirmed a rare severe geomagnetic storm warning for this weekend – the first in almost 20 years. The lights first appeared on Friday evening and thousands of people caught a glimpse of the beautiful sky – you can see some of these stunning photos here. But for those who missed it on Friday, the phenomenon graced the skies again on Saturday, giving stargazers another chance.

Explaining why the sky turned a rainbow color, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said the geomagnetic storm struck Earth on Thursday and could affect communications, GPS and power networks. The cause of this storm is a “large, complex” sunspot cluster 17 times Earth’s diameter. The last G5 storm hit the earth in October 2003, causing power outages in Sweden. The Northern Lights lit up the sky overnight, turning large parts of the UK pink and green.

Pink and green bands of light could be seen across the UK and Europe on Friday evening, with sightings as far away as Suffolk in the UK. The Met Office said it had received images from as far away as Prague and Barcelona.

If the chances of seeing them increase, meteorologists advise staying away from streetlights and using a camera to increase the chances of seeing the northern lights. Cameras can adapt to other wavelengths better than our eyes.

It is unlikely that the lights will be visible at this time of year as it gets very dark around 11pm. Remote, open areas with views of the northern horizon are best.

Auroras occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles. When they collide, light is emitted in different wavelengths, creating colorful lights in the sky.

In the Northern Hemisphere, most of this activity occurs within a band known as the aurora oval, which covers latitudes between 60 and 75 degrees. When activity is strong, it spreads over a larger area – which explains why displays can occasionally be seen as far south as the UK.

According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Earth was hit by a G5 geomagnetic storm on Thursday. The G5 rating is considered “extreme” and the strongest level of a solar storm. The cause of this storm was a “large, complex” sunspot cluster 17 times the diameter of Earth.

The last G5 storm hit Earth more than 20 years ago in October 2003, causing power outages in Sweden. Every 11 years, the Sun’s poles reverse, causing bursts of solar activity that result in the Northern Lights. Scientists predict the next solar maximum will occur at the end of 2024.