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”.
And now meteorologists have forecast that we can expect more of the same on Monday night.
The Met Office said: “The northern lights are best seen in darkness, away from any light pollution. The lights generally extend from 50 miles to as high as 400 miles above the Earth’s surface.”
Residents of big cities, including London, are unlikely to get a decent view of the lights thanks to light pollution but in other parts of the country, the naked eye can watch in awe as cosmic colour takes over. Here, we reveal some of the best places to observe the northern lights.
County Durham
The Grassholm Observatory is a purpose-built facility near a remote reservoir for star gazers from all over the world to enjoying the famous dark skies of Teesside. It is no surprise, then, that this is an optimum place to enjoy the northern lights. On Sunday night viewers were wowed by a sky painted electric fuchsia.
Shropshire
The silhouettes of winter trees couldn’t be any more dramatic than in Shropshire, backlit in hazy purple by the aurora. The softly rolling landscape of this midlands county is the perfect backdrop for other-worldly light displays, with delighted locals sharing their views on Twitter.
Lincolnshire
The flat plains of Lincolnshire are twinned with enormous, clear skies, where the northern lights can put on some of its most vivid displays. One resisident who was out taking photographs at 1:30am tweeted “I have very cold feet, but it was so worth it!”, which will no doubt encourage others to venture out later.
Glasgow and surrounding areas
The further north you go, the greater your chance of catching the northern lights, so Scotland is always going to have the edge. Last night Glaswegians were stunned to catch a glimpse of the aurora from the city itself as well as surrounding villages, with images uploaded on social media sites looking more like digitally created special effects than a natural phenomenon.
Northumberland
Northumberland is one of the top places for observing the northern lights partly because of its vast, dark skies but also because of the county’s castles and coastline, which are even more remarkable when lit up in the most vivid hues imaginable.
