The Northern Lights could be visible in Scotland this weekend thanks to a large solar flare.
NASA detected a huge burst of energy from the sun on Thursday, which is expected to create a "breathtaking" aurora borealis.
This flare is classified as an X9.0 flare. According to NASA, X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength.
The Northern Lights are likely to be visible in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern parts of England on Saturday and Sunday.
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However, there is expected to be light cloud cover across the Central Belt and Western Isles on Saturday night, with the potential for clearer skies in the north-east.
Conditions are expected to be clearer for the Central Belt, particularly the south-west, on Sunday night into Monday morning.
Silvia Dalla, professor of solar physics at the University of Central Lancashire said: "To maximise your chances of viewing the aurora, the sky needs to be as clear as possible.
“Look northwards and try to find a place with dark skies, ideally away from a city where light pollution can interfere with the view."
Dr Steph Yardley, a space scientist at Northumbria University, said the region of the Sun which has been producing the flares, has been particularly active.
She explained: “This region on the Sun is one to watch as it has been quite active over the past few days, previously producing another strong flare on October 1 that was also associated with a solar eruption.
“Both eruptions associated with the strong flares are Earth-directed and we expect them to impact us sometime between October 4-6, meaning auroras might be visible in Scotland and North England during this period.”
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