Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Northern lights: 11 of the best Aurora sightings captured

The northern lights were seen across the UK on Sunday

Mustafa Javid Qadri
Monday 27 February 2023 08:31 EST
Comments
Aurora stretching across the night sky in St Andrews
Aurora stretching across the night sky in St Andrews (PA/@StLeonards_Head)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The northern lights were seen across the UK on Sunday, with the light phenomenon being enjoyed by people up and down the country.

Pictures of the rare Aurora display were captured in areas including North Uist in Scotland, North Wales, Cambridgeshire and Shropshire.

On Sunday night, the Met Office said: “A coronal hole high-speed stream arrived this evening combined with a rather fast coronal mass ejection leading to Aurora sightings across the UK.”

The Met Office also said there is a chance of seeing the northern lights again on Monday night.

The forecaster added that the rare sightings of the aurora borealis further south in the UK on Sunday night were due to the “strength” of a geomagnetic storm and the “strip of cloudless skies” in southern regions.

Here, The Independent takes a look at some of the best sightings of the northern lights shared online:

Taken by Castlerock Beach - Northern Ireland - a viewer spotted a ray of light green blurred in the sky.

A simmer of red and green was spotted from a viewer’s window in Elgin, Scotland.

One woman snapped this picture from her phone camera by the Causeway Coast - north of Northern Ireland.

The northern lights can be seen crossing paths with the historic landmark, Stonehenge.

A group of campers pitched their tents by Aonach Mòr - Scotland - and were treated to this breathtaking view.

Red and green shades were seen stretching across the skies of Dundee, Scotland.

A contrast of red blending into the green was spotted by Inverness over Ben Wyvis and the Beauly Firth.

A panoramic view of the northern lights was spotted in Buncrana, Ireland.

The rare aurora display was seen by the Grassholme Observatory in the countryside of Durham.

Students from The Isle of Man captured this image with a tinge of red and green in the sky.

Faint red lights of Aurora and bright lights were spotted in Oxfordshire.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in