Northern Lights stun UK down to England's south coast

- Published

Residents across the UK were left stunned as the sky was illuminated by the spectacular colours of the Northern Lights on Friday and Saturday evenings.

The natural phenomenon, known as the Aurora Borealis, is the result of increased solar activity.

Such occurrences are mostly visible near the Arctic Circle and northern Scotland, but particularly strong activity levels meant they could be seen as far south as Devon, Hampshire and Kent on Saturday night.

The Met Office has said sightings could continue to be possible during clear skies until Tuesday.

Northern Lights are caused by powerful solar eruptions from the Sun, called coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

Towards the end of last week, the Sun was observed to unleash CMEs directed towards the Earth.

This stream of charged particles can get captured by the Earth's magnetic field and directed into our atmosphere, especially towards polar regions.

When these charged particles collide with oxygen and nitrogen, photons of coloured light are emitted - this is the aurora.

The chances of seeing the aurora vary across the UK depending upon its strength. When activity levels reach 200nT (nanotesla) the aurora would be visible in the north of the UK, but not the south.

On Saturday evening, those levels reached 600nT, meaning it would be visible across the whole of the UK, even in the south, which is a much rarer phenomenon.

Experts have previously said 2026 will be a peak year for aurora-spotting as the Sun has been in a heightened state of activity as part of its 11-year natural cycle.

If you missed out this time, the aurora may return on Sunday.

The Met Office has said sightings remain possible across Scotland and similar geomagnetic longitudes during clear skies until Tuesday.

To see them, you need to look northwards, away from bright streetlights, and look through a mobile phone camera.

The reason you need to use a camera is because in low-light conditions at night our eyes use rod cells to see - these cells do not perceive colour and so we actually see in black and white. Cameras do not have the same limitations.