Northern Lights could be visible in the UK tonight

The Northern Lights could be visible in parts of the UK on Thursday and Friday night - but any viewing window is likely to be brief.

Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will have the best chance of seeing the aurora, which is caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with molecules in the upper atmosphere.

However, the Met Office said many areas could struggle for clear skies.

"The Northern Lights may be enhanced overnight tonight with the arrival of a coronal mass ejection," said a spokesman.

"They're most likely to reach Scotland, parts of northern England and Northern Ireland.

"However, visibility may be poor for many, with cloud and rain for many in those regions overnight, as well as only a short window where it's dark enough as we're in summer."

Don Pollacco, a physics professor at the University of Warwick, said people in the countryside would have the best chance.

"To predict exactly where you can see the Northern Lights is difficult as conditions can change quickly.

"The current storm is said to be visible from northern England but they are notoriously difficult to predict.

"However, one thing is for sure, and that is that you are unlikely to see them from a brightly lit city environment - you need to go somewhere dark and look towards the northern horizon.

"So, you would preferably be in the countryside away from street lights."

The Aurora Borealis, as it is also known, is most usually associated with Scandinavian countries in Europe but is sometimes visible in the UK, with people as far south as Somerset and Wiltshire posting pictures of it in April.