The green, purple and pink hues of the Northern Lights have appeared in the night sky over the UK, Ireland and England. For these regions, this is extremely rare.
The Northern Lights appeared in the night sky over the UK, Ireland and part of England on the night of February 26th. This spectacle is usually most visible near the Earth's magnetic north and south poles, when high-speed electrically charged particles from space collide with gas molecules in the upper atmosphere.
Where you saw the Northern Lights: incredible photos
The northern lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are usually best seen in high latitude regions closer to the Arctic, such as Scandinavia.
However, the inhabitants of Great Britain, Scotland and northern England managed to see this special spectacle. And this time, even parts of southern England, such as Kent and Cornwall, were also engulfed in the northern lights.
Dozens of lucky people shared their photos on social networks:
The northern phenomenon can still be seen today
The Met Office is predicting clear skies across the UK. Forecasters said the northern lights could be visible on the evening of February 27 as far south as central England, where skies remain clear.
A map simulating the movement of the aurora has shown that parts of northern Scotland, including Shetland, have been shrouded in red since around 8pm, indicating a high likelihood that the aurora will be visible.
