The Northern Lights are coming to the Midlands – how you can see them

Experts at conditions are right for a rare chance to see the lights across the UK on Saturday night and Sunday night – as long as the clouds keep clear.

It is all down to unusual solar activity, with flares erupting from a sun spot which could interact with the Earth’s magnetic field.

The Met Office Space X account says a previous coronal mass ejection (CME) is expected to arrive late Friday or early Saturday, which could bring visible aurora across Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of England, though cloud and rain could hamper viewing for some.

But the big one - an X9 solar flare - could be huge, though it is too early to say precisely what it may produce.

Some are saying it could be bigger than the northern lights display earlier in the year that brought the best display in decades.

A CME is the ejection of material from the Sun into interplanetary space. If the material is directed towards the Earth then the event may result in a disturbance to the Earth's magnetic field and ionosphere.