Conditions for an aurora borealis geomagnetic storm – otherwise known as the Northern Lights – were expected to be optimum throughout Tuesday night, the Met Office said
Brits were in awe last night to catch a spectacular glimpse of the Northern Lights.
Incredible photographs of the aurora borealis geomagnetic storm were shared on social media by people across the UK. The Met Office had said it expected conditions to be optimum in most regions, including in southern England. One man said his 54-year wait to see the aurora borealis was worthwhile as he snapped some stunning pictures from the Isle of Skye.
Another person saw the Northern Lights from their viewpoint along the Cumbria coast. They captured a glorious blend of purple and blue light up the night’s sky.
Stunning glimpses of the Northern Lights were also forecast across the US, including in Alaska, Washington, Oregon and Maine. This was the case because the sun earlier this week burped out huge bursts of energy called coronal mass ejections, leading space weather forecasters to issue a geomagnetic storm watch.
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READ MORE: Northern Lights: Amazing pictures show stunning aurora borealis lighting up UK skies
Sharing images on Facebook, one woman, who saw the phenomenon in Cumbria, wrote: “A decent Northern Lights show over Seascale (Tuesday 16th April). I was very lucky to catch it between the clouds.”
And Chris Brown, a beauty salon owner, posted on Facebook: “Bit emotional it has to be said. 54 years I’ve waited to see the Northern Lights and tonight I popped my cherry. Thank you #Scotland, you have delivered on so many levels.” He saw the Northern Lights on the Isle of Skye, as did Ralph Tonge, a photographer based on the nearby Outer Hebrides.
Posting photos on Facebook, Mr Tonge said: “So lucky to be able to see the Northern Lights again this evening. Dancing in the sky, and when it got properly dark and my eyes acclimatised, I could definitely see a hint of green. The camera picked up the colours which you can see reflected on the sea.”
Another person, again on the Isle of Skye, wrote: “Aurora. It’s not as visible to the naked eye, but we definitely see it, undulating and and the pillars stretching into the beyond. It’s always exciting to see.”
When an aurora borealis geomagnetic storm happened in October last year, people as far south as Essex sent the Mirror amazing pictures of the skies. Writing on its website, the Met Office says: “The Northern Lights occur as a consequence of solar activity and result from collisions of charged particles in the solar wind colliding with molecules in the Earth’s upper atmosphere.
“Solar winds are charged particles that stream away from the Sun at speeds of around one million miles per hour. When the magnetic polarity of the solar wind is opposite to the Earth’s magnetic field, the two magnetic fields combine allowing these energetic particles to flow into the Earth’s magnetic north and south poles.”