The Sky is Pink, Purple, Green: Northern lights dazzle the UK and Ireland
In a rare display of nature, the Northern lights lit up the night sky across Britain and Ireland. These ‘supernatural’ lights that appeared after a very long time reached as far south as Hertfordshire and Cornwall
)
In a rare display of nature, shimmering green and purple northern lights were seen across Britain and Ireland on Sunday night. These “supernatural” lights that appeared after a very long time, reached as far south as Hertfordshire and Cornwall, according to The Guardian. Reuters
As per the report, the light show, also known as an aurora, appears when fast, electrically charged particles from space hit gas molecules in Earth's upper atmosphere. It is often most visible close to the planet's magnetic north and south poles. Image Courtesy: @metoffice/Twitter
Scotland in the UK is a frequent spot to see the northern lights, but southern England is a relatively uncommon place to see them. These sightings were also reported on Sunday in Norfolk, South Wales, and Northern Ireland. Image Courtesy: @nigeldanson/Twitter
The aurora borealis "may be visible as far south as central England tonight where skies remain clear," according to the Met Office, which also predicted that the lights would likely be visible again on Monday night. Image Courtesy: @savbrown/Twitter
The Met office claims that the lights were brought on by the entrance of a "coronal hole high-speed stream" and a "rather fast coronal mass ejection," which helped to generate geomagnetic storms and improved the conditions for northern lights. Image Courtesy: @MetMattTaylor/Twitter
According to a tweet from the Met Office, continuous coronal hole fast wind and coronal mass ejection effects cause mild to moderate geomagnetic storms, which have an impact on the aurora's intensity and chances of being visible. Image Courtesy: @MetMattTaylor/Twitter
On Sunday, many onlookers posted sightings of the event on social media, with some claiming to have seen it as far south as Kent and Cornwall. Image Courtesy: @MetMattTaylor/Twitter
Sharing a picture of the illuminated night sky, a netizen tweeted, "Aurora at Ardmore, Armagh. Loving the breathtaking shots by every one of last night's events from around the UK and Ireland. Still processing what I have - but awesome display last night!" Image Courtesy: @MetMattTaylor/Twitter