Last night parts of the UK sky went from inky black to a dazzling display of colour reminiscent of fireworks night or an intense 1980s disco. The northern lights are so extreme it is hard to believe they are down to Mother Nature.
Also known as the aurora borealis, this spectacular phenomenon is caused by electrically charged particles from space entering the Earth’s atmosphere at high speed. Sightings in the UK are rare – most people have to travel to Iceland or Norway to see the lights, which is why people were so excited to catch a glimpse from as far south as Cornwall, which exceeded the the Met Office’s predictions that the “incredible occurrence” of the aurora borealis would be visible “as far south as central England”.
