You’d be forgiven for thinking that by living in the UK, witnessing the beautiful phenomenon that is the Northern Lights in our skies would be pretty much impossible – but not these days, it seems.

Over the past month, countless people in the UK have been lucky enough to see the aurora borealis light up the night sky in pink and green hues (something that most would usually hope to see during a trip to Iceland or Canada). But if you missed out, there may be more opportunity to see the Northern Lights in the UK again – here’s everything you need to know.

Why can we see the Northern Lights in the UK?

According to the Met Office, the Northern Lights occur “as a consequence of solar activity and result from collisions of charged particles in the solar wind colliding with molecules in the Earth’s upper atmosphere.”

Aurora lights are polar lights that occur near Earth’s magnetic pole – hence why they are usually seen in countries like Iceland – but sometimes, occurrences called ‘Coronal Mass Ejections’ (CME) from the sun can cause the area to expand, bringing the aurora to lower latitudes.

It’s usually pretty uncommon to see the Northern Lights in the UK, but there have been several recent sightings including in Essex, Suffolk, London and Liverpool.

When can we next see the Northern Lights in the UK?

Once again, there will have to be a specific set of circumstances in order for the aurora borealis to appear again. Sadly, at present, there’s not as much chance – but experts say that there may still be some sightings. “There’s no significant space weather in the current forecast and aurora sightings for the UK remain unlikely in the next few days,” a Met Office spokesperson told GLAMOUR.

“This is a bit of a lull in Earth-directed solar activity, which brought visible auroras for much of the UK a few weeks ago in what was the strongest geomagnetic storm to reach Earth since 2003.”

They add, however: “It’s worth noting that while sightings are unlikely in the current forecast period, the Sun is reaching the peak in its activity as part of its 11-year solar cycle, so there remains a chance of further aurora visibility at times as we continue to move through the year.

How can I increase my chances of seeing the Northern Lights in the UK?

The best thing to do is get yourself an aurora app, such as AuroraWatch or My Aurora Forecast, which will send a notification if chances are high. The Northern Lights are best seen on a clear night, with no clouds.

It’s worth noting that the aurora is usually seen in the early hours of the morning, too, so you’ll need to set an alarm! Many also report that it’s easier to see the Northern Lights through a phone camera rather than the naked eye. The best seasons for aurora watching are around the spring and autumn equinoxes – so come summer, the UK’s Northern Lights era is officially over until autumn.