“The Aurora Borealis may be visible as far south as central England tonight where skies remain clear.”
The Met Office posted the alert just before 6.30pm, with the display due from about 7pm. That leaves half an hour to find a dark sky away from light pollution in a country that has very few. Days earlier a Bristol resident photographed a green glow and the sceptics explained it away. The aurora usually stays in Scotland. This time the Sun pushed it to the Midlands.