this post was submitted on 10 May 2024
105 points (99.1% liked)

United Kingdom

4076 readers
29 users here now

General community for news/discussion in the UK.

Less serious posts should go in !casualuk@feddit.uk or !andfinally@feddit.uk
More serious politics should go in !uk_politics@feddit.uk.

Try not to spam the same link to multiple feddit.uk communities.
Pick the most appropriate, and put it there.

Posts should be related to UK-centric news, and should be either a link to a reputable source, or a text post on this community.

Opinion pieces are also allowed, provided they are not misleading/misrepresented/drivel, and have proper sources.

If you think "reputable news source" needs some definition, by all means start a meta thread.

Posts should be manually submitted, not by bot. Link titles should not be editorialised.

Disappointing comments will generally be left to fester in ratio, outright horrible comments will be removed.
Message the mods if you feel something really should be removed, or if a user seems to have a pattern of awful comments.

founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
 

The Northern Lights are set to be visible across large parts of the UK overnight as a huge solar storm is going to hit Earth.

America's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reportedly issued its first severe solar storm warning since 2005 yesterday as a huge geomagnetic storm races towards Earth - meaning it could be the most powerful experienced in almost two decades.

It's set to hit overnight, and could supercharge the Northern Lights, making them visible in Scotland, northern England and Wales and even further south if conditions are right.

But the impressive Aurora Borealis could also potentially interfere with infrastructure, including the power grid and satellites when it hits.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Hol@feddit.uk 11 points 5 months ago (4 children)

Reckon it’s worth taking a drive out of London to spot the aurora?

[–] Hol@feddit.uk 8 points 5 months ago

Update: Worth it, thanks for the tips everyone!

Took a drive out to a little town near Newmarket (Ousden) that seemed to be recommended as a stargazing spot. Top of a hill, hardly a cloud in the sky, sliver of a moon, and not even too cold. What a perfect night!

Even on an iPhone 13 mini without a tripod or any skill in photography we managed to get a couple of amazing snaps.

Finished up with some motorway services doughnuts on the way home in the wee hours.

Overall:⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - would do it again.

[–] ArtieShaw@fedia.io 8 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Ex-astronomer nerd here. I would, unless light pollution is also a problem in the countryside. I saw the aurora twice when I was a teen. It was a long time ago, but definitely memorable.

Here in Ohio it's hard to find any place with dark skies. Even farmers have high output lights attached to every barn and outbuilding. It comes off as a bit paranoid on their part, but maybe there are roving gangs of werewolves that I'm not aware of.

If you do find a dark place, give your eyes 20 minutes to dark-adapt. Don't look at any terrestrial light directly and you'll find that the available light will be enough to get around. If you do need a flashlight (sorry - torch) you can cover it with a red film to avoid ruining your night vision. It does make a difference when star gazing.

[–] emptiestplace@lemmy.ml 1 points 5 months ago

Ex-astronomer

:(

[–] Emperor@feddit.uk 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The Standard has a London-specific article, which suggests it is guarantee in the North and could cover the whole country. So check your local weather maps (I use Wunderground) for a clear patch and give it a go.

[–] Hol@feddit.uk 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Exciting stuff! Just an hour or two until it’s dark. Fingers crossed!

[–] Emperor@feddit.uk 4 points 5 months ago

See you back here!

[–] SeedyOne@lemm.ee 6 points 5 months ago

Just go in knowing it likely will not be sheets of aurora like you see elsewhere but instead quick splashes of green hues. Still could be pretty cool though, hope you can see something!