In Britain, Chasing a Glimpse of the Northern Lights

By Isabella Kwai

Reporting from London, where she failed to see the Northern Lights

They were peering over their balconies, huddled at the top of lookouts or drinking coffee, eyes turned to the sky for a hint of color — any color.

As night fell, chasers of the aurora borealis in the northern hemisphere on Friday were out again. The vivid hues, which are most often seen closer to the North Pole, lit up skies in an unusual showing in the lower latitudes of Europe and North America last week.

Those who missed the lights, or who were eager to see another showing, set their alarms and monitored aurora watch apps, hopeful for another opportunity. Some people in Canada and Britain said they were rewarded, while others in the northern United States kept a watchful eye on forecasts.

But predicting when an aurora will show up can be tricky, forecasters said, given that sun activity during its cycle is constantly evolving.

"Broadly speaking, though, we do know that activity and sunspot numbers should increase in this part of the cycle," Tom Morgan, a meteorologist for the Met Office, said.

At least for this weekend, aurora sightings in the United Kingdom are unlikely, according to the Met Office, though there is a "slight chance" that the lights may appear in northern Scotland before sunrise on Sunday.

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