"Geomagnetic activity indeed remained very high throughout Saturday, so the aurora was above our heads but sadly not when the sky was dark enough to see it. There were indications that activity would not be in the extreme "G5" category as it was on Friday night but weakened to a severe "G3"... It was indeed at this level into the evening but, just as darkness fell, geomagnetic levels fell below the threshold, leaving many of us rather disappointed at seeing nothing."

However:

"Forecasters at NOAA and the Met Office Space Weather centre are predicting the arrival of another strong CME on Sunday and into Monday.

Geomagnetic activity is expected to be strong to severe (G4) with a chance of an increase at times to extreme (G5).

Therefore, for another chance to see the aurora – anywhere in the UK - you might want to keep an eye on things on Sunday night.

Why you probably missed the Northern Lights on Saturday

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cglv53402mko 

There were a couple of red bars earlier, but the NASA charts only peaked at around 120GW - the auroras became visible around 200GW down here the other night, apparently, and became spectacular after around 280GW (it peaked at just over 300GW).

I did wake up several times during the night to check, just in case, but of course nothing. I feel a bit zombiefied this morning!

https://spaceweather.com/images2024/14may24/blackoutmap.jpg 

https://spaceweather.com/ 

THE BIGGEST SOLAR FLARE OF THE CURRENT SOLAR CYCLE:

Earth-orbiting satellites have just detected the most intense solar flare of the current solar cycle (so far)--an X8.7-category blast from giant sunspot AR3664. Extreme ultraviolet radiation from the flare ionized the top of Earth's atmosphere and caused a deep shortwave blackout over the Americas.

https://spaceweather.com/ 

A series of off-target CMEs emitted by departing sunspot AR3664 has missed Earth.

As a result, today's minor geomagnetic storm watch has been cancelled.

https://spaceweather.com/ 

Nevertheless....

https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/ 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c163j8551ygo 

https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/ 

https://spaceweather.com/ 

https://spaceweather.com/ 

https://spaceweather.com/ 

https://spaceweather.com/ 

A "G1-class geomagnetic storm is possible on June 4th when a CME is expected to graze Earth's magnetic field. The CME was hurled into space on June 1st by a complex X1-M7 double solar flare. Much confusion has attended this forecast because there were actually two CMEs at the same time--one toward Earth and one away from Earth."

"Five planets will align in the night sky on Tuesday in a celestial lineup that will not occur again for 17 years. Jupiter, Mars, Mercury, Uranus and Venus will all be visible at the same time in an ultra rare planetary alignment, which Nasa has dubbed a 'planet parade'."

https://www.independent.co.uk/space/five-planets-aligned-tonight-how-to-watch-b2309863.html 

Sky & Telescope says: There is no "planet parade" spectacle!

"There is no "planet parade" spectacle! Friends and relatives may be asking you about the incredible "Planet Parade" they've heard is happening in the sky. Some internet and "news" outlets are calling it the third great celestial spectacle of this spring after the solar eclipse and the auroras.

Sorry. This is a case of a crazy-weird falsehood ballooning from a tiny kernel of truth and rolling like wildfire through the modern world.

The kernel of truth? This week, the seven planets other than Earth are in a line spanning about 90° along the ecliptic. But most of them are too close to our line of sight to the Sun to be seen at all. Only modest Saturn and Mars are in naked-eye view as dawn begins these mornings."

This Week's Sky at a Glance, May 31 – June 9

https://skyandtelescope.org/astronomy-news/observing-news/this-weeks-sky-at-a-glance-may-31-june-9/ 

https://spaceweather.com/ 

https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/ 

"These are our first noctilucent clouds of the season here in Poland," says Nikodem. "It was a very nice display."

https://spaceweathergallery2.com/full_image.php?image_name=Marek-Nikodem-CDS_4125_1718152701.jpg 

https://spaceweather.com/ 

"For the second day in a row, protons from the sun are raining down on Earth. This is causing a shortwave radio blackout inside the Arctic Circle--also known as a polar cap absorption event. The protons are being funneled toward the Arctic by Earth's magnetic field; their ionizing effect extinguishes shortwave transmissions at all frequencies below 30 MHz. This event should last for another 24 to 48 hours. You can monitor its progress here."

https://spaceweather.com/ 

Also:

A POTENTIALLY DANGEROUS SUNSPOT:

Only a few days ago, sunspot AR3712 didn't exist. Now it's 8 times wider than Earth and growing fast:

Magnetograms of the sunspot reveal a mixed-polarity magnetic field with north (+) and south (-) poles bumping together. Magnetic reconnection could soon cause an X-class solar flare. Any such eruption this weekend will be geoeffective as the sunspot is turning to directly face Earth.

https://spaceweather.com/ 

https://aurorawatch.lancs.ac.uk/ 

At that moment, the sun will reach the point at which it's farthest north of the celestial equator. To be more precise, when the solstice occurs, the sun will appear to be shining directly overhead for a point on the Tropic of Cancer (latitude 23.5 degrees north) in the eastern Pacific Ocean, roughly 1,100 statute miles (1,800 kilometers) southwest of Los Angeles.  

June solstice 2024 brings changing seasons to Earth on June 20 — What to know

https://www.space.com/june-solstice-2024-changing-seasons 

"Last night, an outbreak of noctilucent clouds (NLCs) lit up Europe as far south as Paris. This is supposed to be a bad year for NLCs because of high solar activity. However, the clouds didn't get the memo."  😁

https://spaceweather.com/ 

"Sky watchers in Europe are reporting intense displays of noctilucent clouds. To say this is a surprise would be an understatement. Solar Max has arrived, and solar activity should be melting the clouds away. Water vapor injected into the mesosphere by the Tonga volcano and SpaceX rockets could be upending normal trends in noctilucent cloud formation."

https://spaceweather.com/ 

I thought I may have seen nocilicent cloud 2 evenings back, whilst sat in the garden, this makes me now believe I did indeed see it, as this was the same night as the amazing display in ireland, although what I saw was just a small part and nowhere near as spectacular as the online pictures.