{"id":954455,"date":"2026-05-12T08:57:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-12T08:57:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/954455\/"},"modified":"2026-05-12T08:57:17","modified_gmt":"2026-05-12T08:57:17","slug":"exact-date-northern-lights-set-to-be-visible-in-sky-over-scotland-this-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/954455\/","title":{"rendered":"Exact date Northern Lights set to be visible in sky over Scotland this week"},"content":{"rendered":"

SPOTTING the northern lights is a bucket list item for many \u2013 and lucky Scots could be in with a chance of ticking it off later this week.<\/p>\n

A massive burst of solar activity, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), blasted off the Sun at around 1.30pm on Sunday, May 10. <\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for Scottish Sun newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\tThank you!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\"SpectatorsThe northern lights are set to be visible over Scotland this week Credit: Getty<\/p>\n

\"TheA massive burst of solar activity blasted off the Sun at around 1.30pm on Sunday, May 10 Credit: Alamy<\/p>\n

The eruption has sent billions of tonnes of super-hot solar plasma and powerful magnetic fields hurtling toward Earth\u2019s \u201cstrike zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, any major solar flares or CMEs will be much more likely to be aimed towards the Earth. <\/p>\n

And when the cloud of particles hits the Earth\u2018s magnetic shield, an Aurora Borealis is produced which can paint the night sky with shades of pink, purple and green. <\/p>\n

Experts at the Met Office<\/a> say a section of this expanding solar cloud could brush past the Earth on Wednesday, May 13. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tREAD MORE ON THE SCOTTISH SUN\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

This is expected to spark a minor geomagnetic storm, making it much more likely for stargazers in Scotland<\/a> and the rest of the UK to spot the dazzling display<\/p>\n

The Met Office says: \u201cAuroral activity is expected to be mostly at background levels. However, there is the potential for a glancing CME arriving into early UTC on 13 May. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis may bring an enhancement to the auroral oval, perhaps allowing sightings across northern Scotland and similar geomagnetic latitudes, where skies are clear.\u201d <\/p>\n

While the northern lights<\/a> are seen in the UK several times a year, 2026 is expected to be a peak year as the Sun reaches the height of its 11-year cycle.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMost read in The Scottish Sun\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Scotland and other high-latitude regions are prime locations for catching a glimpse of an aurora every few months.<\/p>\n

However, powerful solar storms make them visible across the UK between September and March. <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\tBest tips for seeing an aurora\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n

The Met Office has laid out its best tip for catching a glimpse of the Northern Lights.
Always check the weather forecast before you set off.<\/p>\n

High cloud cover is the enemy of the Aurora and can block the display entirely.<\/p>\n

In order to see the lights, you need to get away from the light pollution of busy towns and cities.<\/p>\n

Finding a dark, rural location far from street lights is best.
Scan the northern horizon for unusual light patterns.<\/p>\n

While the display can sometimes be clear as day, it often starts as a faint, dancing mist.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t be disheartened if the lights look faint to the naked eye.<\/p>\n

The Aurora often appears much brighter in photographs because cameras use long exposure.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SPOTTING the northern lights is a bucket list item for many \u2013 and lucky Scots could be in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":954456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3844],"tags":[70,413,16,15,741],"class_list":{"0":"post-954455","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-space","8":"tag-science","9":"tag-space","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-weather"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116560779812936191","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=954455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/954455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/954456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=954455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=954455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=954455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}