Northern Lights illuminate Britain: Sky gazers as far south as Sussex enjoy spectacular nighttime display thanks to colder weather
Dazzling hues of pink and green from the Northern Lights delighted sky gazers across the UK - including as far south as Sussex - amid ideal cold and clear conditions on Thursday night.
Dazzling hues of pink and green from the Northern Lights delighted sky gazers across the UK - including as far south as Sussex - amid ideal cold and clear conditions on Thursday night.
The phenomenon, also known as aurora borealis, had been flagged by the Met Office as potentially being visible across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England in the first half of the evening.
Forecasters added there was a slimmer chance of them being seen in the second half.
Jonathan Vautrey, Met Office meteorologist, said earlier in the day: Weve had a coronal mass ejection from the sun in the last few days that arrived to Earth this morning.
The geomagnetic activity is already happening, but its not dark enough to see anything.
Dazzling hues of pink and green from the Northern Lights delighted sky gazers across the UK. Pictured: The phenomenon in Carron Valley Reservoir in Stirlingshire, Scotland
Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earths atmosphere around the magnetic poles. Pictured: Carron Valley Reservoir in Stirlingshire, Scotland
Forecasters predict the Northern Lights will again be visible on Friday night but the showing will be weaker than Thursday. Pictured: Carron Valley Reservoir in Stirlingshire, Scotland
The activity will be continuing throughout this evening and theres a chance of seeing it.
There is another chance to see the lights on Friday night into Saturday, but at the moment it is looking as if it is going to be weaker than Thursdays, Mr Vautrey added.
Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earths atmosphere around the magnetic poles.
As they collide, light is emitted at various wavelengths, creating colourful displays in the sky.
In the northern hemisphere, most of this activity takes place within a band known as the aurora oval, covering latitudes between 60 and 75 degrees.
When activity is strong, this expands to cover a greater area - which explains why displays can be occasionally seen as far south as the UK.
Forecasters predict the Northern Lights will again be visible tonight, but the skies are not expected to be as clear.
The weather on Friday will be sunshine with outbreaks of rain pushing in from the North West overnight into Saturday, with highs of 17C in the London area.
Much of southern Scotland, all of England and Wales will stay largely dry on Saturday, with highs of 19C in the south, the forecaster added.
Sky gazers were delighted by the appearance of the Northern Lights in Ribblehead, Yorkshire
Forecasters had said the conditions were ideal last night for anyone wanting to see the phenomenon. Pictured: Ribblehead, Yorkshire
And on Sunday north-west England will likely see rain but temperatures could reach 20C in the South East.
The UK was previously treated to the Northern Lights in August, when they were visible as far south as Cornwall.
In May, thousands of people flooded their social media with their photographs of the phenomena after the Northern Lights appeared strongly over a large part of the UK.
A Met Office animation shows the auroral oval - the ring-like range of auroral activity that determines the range of the Northern Lights and where it will be most visible
