An active aurora year: Will you see the northern lights again?

On Friday 10th May, much of the UK and Ireland were able to witness the magical spectacle that is the aurora. But will it happen again?

Friday 10th May 2024 experienced the most extreme geomagnetic storm since 2003 and the 27th strongest solar flare since measurements of the sun began, a very rare occurrence.

Combined with the imperative need for clear skies on the WeatherRadar, it was the perfect recipe to get to witness the ethereal and incredible rare sights at our latitudes.

If you missed out on the show however, all may not be lost. The sun is expected to reach its most active period in the coming year, as it reaches its peak in its 11-year solar cycle; a periodic 11-year change in the sun's activity.

The sun's magnetic field changes polarity in that cycle, with the solar maximum every half cycle, approximately every 5.5 years, followed by the solar minimum.

During the solar maximum, when the sun has more sunspots than usual as its magnetic field strengthens, this makes solar storms, and consequently the northern lights, more likely due to the release of more coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

The solar storm on 10th May was caused by approximately five CMEs from a particularly large sunspot, with the same active sunspot area anticipated to still emit more CMEs.

The sun rotates approximately once every 27 days, meaning that in 27 days time from May 10th, we could be face-to-face with that active sunspot region again, bringing us the chance of another light show on Thursday 6th June 2024.

However it will again depend on clear skies and cloud cover, which you can keep a keen eye on, on the WeatherRadar.

Despite the 27 day rotation, with the sun's activity peaking through the year, there is hope for more opportunities in the near future.