The short answer
Usually not. On most nights the aurora is too far north to see from the UK. Only a strong geomagnetic storm, a few nights a year, brings it low over the northern horizon, most often in Scotland. It is usually brief, and a phone camera often shows it better than your eyes. In Northern Norway you can see it on many clear, dark nights, even without a storm.
What you can see from the UK
The aurora usually forms a ring around the far north, over Northern Norway, Iceland and northern Canada. A strong geomagnetic storm pushes it south. Scotland then has the best chance, followed by Northern Ireland and northern England. Wales and southern England need an even stronger storm.
From the UK it usually looks like a soft glow or a few pale rays low in the north. A phone camera collects light for longer than your eyes, so it often shows green and pink where you see grey. The display often fades within an hour, and cloud or street lights can hide it completely.
If you want to try tonight
- Find a dark place away from street lights, with a clear view low to the north.
- Wait until it is fully dark, and give your eyes 15 minutes without a bright screen.
- Check a current aurora alert for the UK and your local cloud forecast. You need a clear sky to the north.
- Take a photo in night mode, pointed north.
The aurora in Northern Norway
Tromsø lies under the aurora's usual path, and Lofoten close to it. There the aurora can be overhead even when the Kp index is only 1 or 2, so you do not need a storm. Clear sky and darkness decide most nights.
In Tromsø, the nights are dark enough for aurora (the sun at least 12° below the horizon) from about 1 September to 10 April.
The region pages below show tonight's live score for every viewing spot, and How the score works explains what it means.
Aurora forecast by region:
If you plan a trip, the app can alert you when the score at your spot reaches 60. It has tonight's hourly forecast for all 128 viewing spots in Northern Norway and Svalbard.
The app is free, and you do not need to sign up.