The best way to see the Northern Lights over Ireland tonight

Michael Bolton

Skygazers have another opportunity to see the Northern Lights over Ireland on Monday night.

The phenomenon was spotted across the island on Sunday night, a rare occurrence.

It is expected the Aurora Borealis will be most visible in northern areas on Monday, provided there are clear skies.

Some photos of tonight's display. This is the best display I have seen since March 2016.

I will have further updates through Monday as we could well possibly seen strong condations Monday night. #Aurora #northernlights #auroraborealis #ireland #sligo pic.twitter.com/5ks9iPLFdQ

— Northern Lights Alert Ireland (@auroraalertsIRE) February 27, 2023

David Moore, editor of Astronomy Ireland, said anyone hoping to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights should look for an arc of light on the horizon.

"Look in the north after sunset. You should at least see an arc of light low in the north, and if the display picks up as expected this could move much higher in the sky," he said.

Alan O'Reilly, an amateur meteorologist who runs the Carlow Weather social media accounts, told Newstalk radio how people can get the best sight of the phenomenon.

"It's always very tricky trying to predict the Northern Lights, but there's a certainly a chance again tonight.

"The best chance is probably once it gets dark, but really after 9pm, until about 11pm, but it can vary a little bit.

"A dark area is the best way to see it. So if you can get away from street lights and town lights, really the darkest area you can get to, is the best chance, looking north.

"The north-east is probably the best opportunity tonight, in terms of clouds cover and being further north. Any chance, just look up, and you never know."

The Northern Lights are caused by solar storms on the surface of the sun giving out clouds of electrically charged particles, which can travel millions of miles and collide with the Earth.

Most particles are deflected away but some are captured in the Earth’s magnetic field and accelerate down towards the north and south poles, colliding with atoms and molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere.

The lights are the product of this collision between atoms and molecules from the Earth’s atmosphere and particles from the sun.

The UK Met Office said the rare sightings of the Aurora Borealis in Ireland and Britain on Sunday night were due to the “strength” of a geomagnetic storm and the “strip of cloudless skies” in southern regions. – Additional reporting: PA