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Parts of UK treated to dancing Northern Lights display

13 September 2024

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Image source, Weather Watchers/Skyborg
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People up late last night were treated to a dancing display of the Northern Lights - also known as aurora borealis. Skies were lit with a mixture of green, purple and blue hues among the stars.
Image source, Weather Watchers/Rogart
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It's a natural phenomenon caused by activity on the surface of the Sun. Solar storms produce clouds of electrically charged particles and some of these eventually reach Earth. When they do, they react with gases in our atmosphere, creating incredible colours like these seen in the Scottish Highlands.
Image source, Weather Watchers/The Roaming Hind
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The colours you see in the sky, like these seen at Pen Y Ghent in Yorkshire, depend on which gas the particles have reacted with. The green we can sometimes see comes from oxygen, whereas the purple, blues and pinks come from reactions with nitrogen.
Image source, Weather Watchers/Coastal JJ
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The dancing displays were mainly seen in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the North of England, although they were seen as far south as Sussex. You can see a slight purple hue in this photo taken in Selsey in West Sussex.
Image source, Weather Watchers/Rossi
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Sights like this are becoming more common - you might remember we had other displays of the Northern Lights earlier in the year. It's because activity on the Sun fits an 11-year cycle and is due to peak this year. These amazing colours were visible in Nairn in the Highlands.
Image source, Weather Watchers/Jeddy
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What a night to go camping! There's a chance you might be able to see the lights again on Friday and Saturday but forecasters say it's less likely.

The Northern Lights were seen across parts of the UK on Thursday night, as forecast by meteorologists.

Check out our gallery of amazing pics - and find out when you could possibly see them next!

And if you managed to see them, then let us know in the comments below.

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