THE NORTHERN LIGHTS are expected to be visible from Ireland tonight, according to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Centre.

In the US, the first G4 storm warning since 2005 has been issued by NOAA. In Ireland, a major aurora borealis (northern lights) display will possibly occur tonight, and over the weekend, clear skies permitting.

Met Eireann forecaster Andrew Doran Sherlock said that those in northern counties, including Donegal, Sligo, and Mayo, are most likely to witness the phenomenon. 

He explained that aurora borealis occurs as a result of charged particles from the sun launched along Earth’s magnetic field colliding with gases in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

The colour of the Northern Lights is dependent on the type of gas particles colliding. 

The Sun just launched multiple Coronal Mass Elections (plasma with embedded magnetic field) at Earth which are combining with each other on the way over. A severe geomagnetic storm is predicted this weekend, meaning auroras are likely to be seen where 'Kp 8' is on the maps below! https://t.co/uFHhOx4dzR pic.twitter.com/ZaFHbYkwZy

— Dr James O'Donoghue (@physicsJ) May 9, 2024

An eruption of solar material, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), can result in a geomagnetic storm when it arrives at Earth. These geomagnetic storms are measured on a scale of G1 to G5 in terms of magnitude, with G5 measuring the most powerful.

The last G5 geomagnetic storm occurred in 2003, which damaged power transformers in South Africa, and resulted in power outages in Sweden. 

At least five “earth-directed” CMEs were observed and expected to arrive as early as midday, according to the Donegal Weather Channel, who run “Aurora Alerts Ireland” X account.