FOLLOWING a spectacular display of the Northern Lights display on Friday night, expectations were high among many Scots that they would see them again on Saturday.
Geomagnetic activity remained high, so the aurora was above our heads but was unfortunately not dark enough for people to see.
There were some indications that activity would not be in the extreme “G5” category as it was on Friday night but weakened to a severe “G3”.
What was the impact of this?
Just as darkness fell, geomagnetic levels fell below the threshold, meaning many were left disappointed at seeing nothing.
Activity did pick up again slightly after midnight although many people had likely given up by this stage.
READ MORE: Northern Lights visible across Scotland – see the pictures
Why has there been so much activity?
A large sunspot is currently orientated towards Earth, resulting in lots of solar activity.
Numerous Coronal Mass Ejections (CME) - like volcanoes – from the she sunspots send charged particles into space and, when directed at Earth, they give us the aurora.
The CMEs can have varying strengths as well as different speeds so can sometimes catch each other up and become more pore powerful just as they hit Earth.
Forecasters at NOAA and the Met Office Space Weather centre are predicting the arrivals of another strong CME on Sunday and into Monday.
Geomagnetic activity is expected to be strong to severe (G4) with a chance of increase at times to extreme (G5).
Will I be able to see the aurora?
As a result of the strong activity, you may want to keep your eyes peeled wherever you are in Scotland on Sunday night.
However, there will be more cloud as a yellow weather warning for thunderstorms will be in place until the early hours of Monday morning.
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