Northern Lights seen over Warwickshire - and you may be able to see them again tonight
THE Northern Lights lit up the sky last night (Friday) with rare sightings across the country.
The photo below was taken by Herald photographer Mark Williamson in Alveston.
The visibility of the Northern Lights was increased on Friday because of an “extreme” geomagnetic storm, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The NOAA said the G5 geomagnetic storm, which is considered extreme and is the strongest level of geomagnetic storm, hit Earth on Thursday.
The cause of the storm is a “large, complex” sunspot cluster and is 17 times the diameter of Earth, with the last storm with a G5 rating hitting earth in October 2003, causing power outages in Sweden.
Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon added: “Those conditions could continue on Saturday night but we still have to work out some details on where exactly that will be.”
Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles.
In the northern hemisphere, most of this activity takes place within a band known as the aurora oval, covering latitudes between 60 and 75 degrees.
When activity is strong, this expands to cover a greater area – which explains why displays can be occasionally seen as far south as the UK.
- If you captured images of th Northern Lights over Warwickshire, email your photos to news@stratford-herald.com