The Northern Lights are usually only seen in the most northern parts of the UK but for the second time this year they have been spotted in Wales. The Met Office had said there was a chance of seeing the aurora borealis on Thursday evening and they were spotted as far south as Cardigan and over the Brecon Beacons.
Where the skies were clear the spectacular light show was visible unusually far south thanks to a "hole" in the sun's atmosphere. Normally, on the rare occasions they are seen in the UK, only Scotland and parts of northern England and Northern Ireland are treated to glimpses of the electrically-charged particles from space entering the Earth's upper atmosphere at high speed. But there was a stunning display in some parts on Thursday night just a month after large part of Wales saw the phenomenon on the night of Sunday, February 26.
In a very technical description a Met Office forecaster said of the latest display: "Enhancement to the aurora is possible overnight on the 22nd into the 23rd, as geomagnetic activity increases upon the arrival of fast winds from coronal hole 86, although there is some uncertainty on the arrival time which may be later into the 23rd. This may be enhanced further by the passing effects of glancing coronal mass ejections. There is a chance of aurora being visible as far south as southern Scotland in this scenario."
And it was actually spotted as far south as Wales as these pictures by Laura Winter show. They were taken near to Cardigan around 9pm on Thursday.
Abergavenny-based photographer Jim Cossey took these pictures of the lights over the LLangynidr Mountain in the Brecon Beacons in the early hours of Friday.
There were also reports of sightings as far south as Cornwall and there could be a chance to see them again on Friday night in northern parts of the UK. The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is forecasting a level two geomagnetic storm for Friday, which is rated as 'moderate'. It will hit the atmosphere between 6pm on Friday and 12am on Saturday.
The Met Office's space forecast reads: "Enhanced solar wind conditions currently being observed are likely to mean an enhancement to the auroral oval into the coming UTC overnight period at least, with probabilities of similar-scale events then waning over the UTC weekend. Expected activity may see observable aurora over Scotland and similar geomagnetic latitudes."
Unfortunately the Met Office forecast for Wales on Friday evening is forecasting rain. It says: "A mostly cloudy and damp night to come with a continued risk of showers or longer spells of rain. Remaining frost-free. "
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