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Wales Online
Wales Online
World
Jaimie Kay & Matt Gibson

Solar storm could cause Aurora Northern Lights display to be seen in UK on Monday

A rare opportunity to see the Aurora natural light display could be experienced by people across the world on Monday.

The phenomenon can most commonly be seen in high latitude areas of the world. But the Daily Star reports that a solar storm expected to hit Earth could cause the Aurora - also known as the Northern Lights - to be visible further towards the equator on this occasion.

Physicists have been trying to forecast when the storm is going to hit Earth. Data from Nasa and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) based in the US suggests it is likely to strike the planet over the next fortnight.

The NOAA's forecast gives an 80 percent chance that Earth will experience a major storm on Monday, March 14. Within its prediction, there is a 20 percent chance that the UK will be affected by the storm.

The storm could interfere with amateur radio and GPS systems. They are most likely to be affected near dawn and dusk.

In a Twitter post on Friday, space weather physicist Dr Tamitha Skov said: "Direct Hit! NOAA & NASA prediction models show solar storm to hit Earth between 12:00 and 21:00 UTC on March 13. Impact should be strong! Expect aurora deep into mid-latitudes, amateur radio & GPS reception issues, especially near dawn/dusk, and on Earth's nightside!"

On Saturday she added: ""Solarstorm & Aurora 5-day Outlook: Busy week with a triple threat! A a big solarstorm storm is coming sandwiched between a glancing blow from a previous solarstorm and some fast solar wind."

A relatively weak C-class solar flare blasted from the earth-facing side of the Sun on Thursday last week. While Dr Tony Phillips of spaceweather.com stated that these flares are usually unremarkable, this one lasted for nearly 12 hours.

For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.

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