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Brits could see the Northern Lights for the second night in a row on Saturday evening.
Known as the Aurora Borealis, the bright colours were visible from as far south as Norfolk on Friday evening after a strong storm.
The lights reached the UK after higher solar activity which sent energy towards Earth – it interacted with our atmosphere to produce the stunning colours in the skies.
As activity remains high on Saturday evening, it is possible the Northern Lights could be seen again.
On Friday night a strong geomagnetic storm caused by a coronal mass ejection – waves of charged particles which erupt from the sun’s surface – brought the Northern Lights to the UK.
As the particles approach Earth they interact with gases in the atmosphere – oxygen atoms produce a green colour while nitrogen lights up as red, blue and pink.
During stronger storms like Friday night’s, the Aurora is visible further south across the country.
Friday also marked the spring equinox, during which time the Northern Lights can appear stronger because the Earth’s magnetic field is aligned with the incoming solar winds.
Photographers and stargazers watched the Northern Lights in Northumberland on Friday
Bright green light could be seen over the area’s Bamburgh lighthouse
While oxygen atoms produce a green colour in the atmosphere, nitrogen atoms produce a red, blue and pink hue, as seen over Northumberland
The Aurora Borealis were also visible elsewhere in Europe, seen here in Tallinn, Estonia
Forecasters at the Met Office Space Weather Prediction Centre said the phenomenon could be seen again on Saturday night.
They told BBC News ‘geomagnetic activity is expected to remain… with a chance of reaching a strong storm’.
While there is a small chance of the Aurora being seen in southern England, it is more likely to be seen across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern areas of England and Wales.
Scotland and Northern Ireland are set to be cloudy for parts of Saturday evening but other areas are likely to have a clearer view.
Geomagnetic storms and solar flares are safe – Earth’s atmosphere protects humans from the radiation – but they can interfere with technology.
