Northern lights dazzle in display across the UK

Sky gazers were treated to "one of the best displays of aurora" on Thursday night.

After a strong geomagnetic storm on the Sun, the northern lights were seen in southern England in a rare display.

The aurora can be particularly strong around the equinox which happened earlier in the week.

Aurora activity is also increasing as the sun reaches the most active part of its 11-year cycle in 2025.

Late on Thursday evening satellites which monitor geomagnetic activity picked up a strong solar wind directed towards Earth.

Aurora watchers were then alerted, poised with their cameras pointing to the northern sky.

Charged particles entered our atmosphere and interacted with oxygen and nitrogen. The result was a display of green, magenta, red and purple colours dancing in the night sky.

The geomagnetic storm was so strong that the aurora was spotted by BBC Weather Watchers in Cornwall, Hampshire and Norfolk.

One Weather Watcher described it as the "best display of aurora I've seen this far south - greens and magentas clearly visible by eye".

Another reason why the display may have been so good is that around the time of an equinox, more charged particles are able to enter our atmosphere.

With the tilt of the Earth in relation to the Sun positioned at right angles during the equinox, the magnetic field is stronger resulting in a more vibrant aurora.

This latest display comes less than a month since we saw the aurora come unusually south across the UK.

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