Northern Lights illuminate UK skies in hues of pink and green

Hang Ross/BBC Weather Observers The Northern Lights, seen as bursts of green, pink and yellow, with a tree in the foreground, over Lyndhurst, Hampshire. — The Northern Lights, seen in bursts of green, pink and yellow, in Lyndhurst, Hampshire.

The skies in the UK were lit up in shades of green and pink by the Northern Lights.

The natural phenomenon known as Aurora Borealis occurs when solar flares send particles towards Earth and interact with particles in the atmosphere.

The Northern Lights are mostly visible near the Arctic Circle, but can also be seen in other regions during times of high solar activity.

Photos sent to the BBC show dazzling displays of light across Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, as well as parts of south-west, southern, eastern and northern England on Monday evening.

The Met Office said “severe geomagnetic storms” had been observed and produced “widespread auroras visible across the UK”, with reports extending as far south as northern Italy.

He added that activity was expected to diminish but could still be seen in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland on Tuesday.

The Met Office said the aurora was the result of a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME), in which the Sun actually emits large clouds of particles.

Colors are then produced when these particles hit the oxygen and nitrogen gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. Oxygen atoms glow green, the color most commonly seen in the Northern Lights, while nitrogen atoms emit purple, blue and pink.