The skies over the UK were lit up in a brilliant pink and green from the Northern Lights last night due to a severe solar storm.
The impressive Aurora Borealis, usually only visible from northern parts of the British Isles, was visible across large parts of the UK overnight, including Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and, unusually, southern England.
Scroll down to see some of the pictures from across the UK…
It comes after America’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued its first severe solar storm warning since 2005 yesterday as a huge geomagnetic storm raced towards Earth.
Fears were also raised that the storm could interfere with infrastructure, including the power grid and satellites.
See the latest weather forecast where you are
The huge solar storm was created by successive coronal mass ejections (CMEs) that have left space a “mess”, one space physicist told Sky News.
CMEs are when a large cloud of high energy plasma erupts from the Sun, into space, and currently there is a sunspot spitting a number out – aimed right at Earth.
‘Space is a mess’
Professor Mathew Owens, a space physicist at the University of Reading’s department of meteorology, told Sky News: “Space is a mess right now, there’s six or seven of these eruptions piling up right now between the Sun and Earth and we’re predicting they’re going to arrive at 2am [11 May].”
Ahead of the event, the Met Office told Sky News: “With clear spells likely for many on Friday night, there’s an increased chance of aurora visibility for some, particularly across Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of northern England and Wales.
“Given the right conditions, there is the chance it may even be visible further south.”
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Professor Owens added: “The worry is there’ll be effects on the power grid. I don’t expect those to be significant but you never know.”
The NOAA says: “Geomagnetic storms can … potentially disrupt communications, the electric power grid, navigation, radio and satellite operations.”
Satellites are also vulnerable because they can be affected directly by radiation caused by CMEs, while power grids are affected because the solar discharge can warp the Earth’s own magnetic field, impacting them.
The solar flares and CMEs that have caused all the “mess” in space began on 8 May and picked up the pace in recent days.
The explosion of plasma and magnetic fields are focused in one sunspot that is actually visible from Earth and can be seen safely through a pair of eclipse glasses.
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It’s difficult to predict the precise impacts, or exactly how far south the Northern Lights will reach because of natural uncertainty within forecasts and the difficulty of measuring the oncoming electromagnetic fields of the eruptions too far ahead of time.
This gives them “very little warning” to the potential severity of the impacts.
A spokesperson for Energy Networks Association, which represents the UK’s electricity networks, told Sky News: “The energy industry plans for a range of events far and wide – including into space.
“We’re monitoring the space weather forecast carefully.”
Here are some of the best pictures we’ve received so far…
Shenley in Hertfordshire
Little Horsted, East Sussex. Pic: Max Coates
Great Malvern. Pic: Callum Welfare
Windsor
Salisbury. Pic: Elena Toms
High Wycombe
High Wycombe
Watford. Pic: Tom Carroll
Dorchester, Dorset. Pic: Sam Williams
Scotland. Pic: Sarah Mills
Bournemouth. Pic: Jamie Trowbridge
Somerton, north Oxfordshire
Watford
Northwood, north west London
Burnham, South Bucks
Hazlemere, Bucks
Southend, Essex
Cornwall
North Norfolk. Pic: Dave Rees
