Northern Lights illuminate UK

11:02, 28 February 2014

YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 28, ARMENPRESS: The Aurora Borealis - better known as the Northern Lights - has been giving rare and spectacular displays over parts of the UK, from the north of Scotland to as far south as Essex and Gloucestershire. Armenpress reports, citing BBC that the lights have also been clearly visible in places such as Orkney, Norfolk, and south Wales.

The display, which is caused by electrically charged particles from the Sun entering the Earth's atmosphere, led to scenes such as this one at the Stonehaven war memorial, Aberdeenshire.

Mark Thompson, presenter of the BBC's Stargazing Live, said he had not been expecting a display as spectacular as it was in places such as Wick, in Caithness. Mr. Thompson said the display, which was also seen in Corbridge, Northumberland, happens when solar wind, or electronically charged particles, are ejected from the Sun. He said: "They take two or three days to get here and when they do get here they cause the gas atoms in the sky to glow. It is as simple as that."

The astronomer said: "Three or four days ago the Sun will have thrown a lot of this stuff out in an event called a Coronal Mass Ejection, and they would have been travelling towards the Earth since. It all depends how active the Sun has been." This photograph was taken in Boulmer, Northumberland.

Mr. Thompson said the particles were usually pulled towards the North Pole but if there were enough of them "they will travel further down towards the equator and cause the lights to go further south", such as here, in Gloucestershire.

"It is just good luck," Mr. Thompson said. "The last time I have seen it this spectacular was probably 20 years ago." The lights were seen in many locations across the UK, including Shap in Cumbria.

The Aurora Borealis was also visible from Foxley, Norfolk.

Many people took photographs of the illuminated skies. This one shows St Mary's Island, Tyne and Wear.

Northern Lights illuminate UK | ARMENPRESS Armenian News Agency

Northern Lights illuminate UK

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