Northern Lights: Beautiful footage of phenomenon captured throughout UK

Parts of the UK had been handled to a spectacular show of the Northern Lights final evening.

Also referred to as the Aurora Borealis, it is one of the crucial dazzling shows within the evening sky.

Lancaster University’s AuroraWatch, run by the Space and Planetary Physics group, issued a “red alert” – which means seeing the phenomenon was very “likely”.

The spectacle is most often related to Scandinavian nations in Europe however is usually seen within the UK.

It is never seen south of Scotland – however final evening, stargazers reported sightings in Northumberland, the Lake District, Greater Manchester and as far south as Cornwall.

Vivid inexperienced, purple, pink and yellow streaks had been witnessed by the evening sky, with folks posting photos on X, previously referred to as Twitter, describing the present as a “fantastic display”.

What causes the phenomenon?

According to the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the colorful lights we see within the evening sky are attributable to exercise on the solar’s floor.

Solar storms on a star’s floor give out enormous clouds of particles charged with electrical energy, which may enter the Earth’s ambiance in a short time.

“These particles then slam into atoms and molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere and essentially heat them up,” Royal Observatory astronomer Tom Kerss mentioned.

“We call this physical process ‘excitation, but it’s very much like heating a gas and making it glow.”

And so, what we’re seeing are atoms and molecules in our ambiance colliding with particles from the solar.

How do I see the Aurora Borealis from the UK?

The additional north you’re, the extra seemingly you’re to see the show – when you’re on X, take a look at @aurorawatchuk, the place the house physicists at Lancaster University will tweet when the Northern Lights could also be seen from the UK.

The situations nonetheless should be proper: darkish and clear nights with as little mild air pollution as doable.