Northern Lights ‘likely to be visible’ in much of UK tonight as red alert issued

Prepare yourselves for the possibility of every man and his dog once again sharing their amateur shots of the skies to their Instagram stories, as the Northern Lights are apparently making another impromptu appearance in the UK.

The aurora borealis are set to spice up our Sunday night (4 August) by turning up on our doorsteps later this evening, even though they usually only emerge within the Arctic circle.

The natural phenomenon is the result of a 'coronal mass ejection', which the Met Office explains is the large expulsion of plasma from the sun's corona.

When these particles hit our atmosphere, they create the aurora.

So, get your sky-gazing gear at the ready, as a red alert has been issued by boffins at the Planetary Physics group at Lancaster University.

These space physicists kindly run the website AuroraWatch, which keeps us all up to date on all the comings and goings that the Northern Lights make.

And we're supposedly in luck tonight lads, as the red alert means that the spectacular display in the skies is 'likely to be visible by eye from Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland'.

But don't worry if you aren't in the vicinity of any of these spots, as the scientists at AuroraWatch say that you will probably be able to snap a photograph of them 'from anywhere in the UK'.

Brits could be in for a beautiful display in the skies later this evening (Getty Stock Photo)

There's nothing like the Northern Lights to bring the nation together, eh?

Thanks to heightened geomagnetic activity taking place which will bring the aurora down to lower latitudes, it is hoped that loads of us will be able to see the colourful display across the UK.

There's just one problem - for those in the north of England or up in Scotland, the Met Office has forecast rain from just before 8.45pm right after the sun sets.

The ideal conditions to get a great view of the Northern Lights are a cloudless sky, so let's hope the showers don't stick around for too long and spoil all of the fun.

The aurora borealis painted the skies across the UK pink back in May (PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)

According to the Met, today's solar activity is 'moderate', but it's space weather page adds that 'moderate to high activity forecast' way up above is set to continue - which raises are chances of seeing the aurora borealis.

They have made quite a few appearances already this year since May thanks to the strongest solar storm in 20 years erupting, so you should already be an expert on how to catch the best snaps of them.

But if you need a refresher, why don't you check out this meteorologist's top tips for getting the best view of them or the five vital things you need to do in order to see them.

You know what they say - fail to prepare, prepare to fail...and get seriously jealous of everyone's Instagram pics of the aurora borealis dancing above them.