Skywatchers in the UK have been told to keep a close eye out as a rare red alert is issued for an aurora borealis today (August 17).
The Northern Lights have appeared regularly over the last few months but seeing them relies on the right weather conditions locally.
In the UK, the stunning phenomena is most likely to be visible by eye or camera of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland.
However, a red alert issued by AuroraWatch UK means that it is likely to be visible from anywhere in the UK. The free service which is run by scientists in the Space and Planetary Physics group at Lancaster University’s Department of Physics issued the alert at 5.12pm. READ MORE: Police shut road after crash outside pub with air ambulance at the scene The automated alerts are issued when the disturbance in the Earth's magnetic field reaches a certain threshold.