Pictures as Northern Lights seen across East Lancashire

Most commonly seen in countries such as Iceland, the pink and green hues were seen from the comfort of our own homes and stargazers have been sharing their pictures.

Joe Darryl Jackson, a Lancashire Camera Club member, shared some pictures of the phenomenon over Blackburn. He took the images at around 10.30pm.

Northern Lights in Blackburn (Image: Joe Darryl Jackson)

Photographer, Lee Mansfield, captures a gorgeous picture of the lights over the Singing Ringing Tree, in Burnley. The picture shows a couple watching the lights in the sky.

The image was taken at around 10.30pm.

Northern Lights in Blackburn (Image: Joe Darryl Jackson)

The natural phenomenon was also visible across parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Jonathan Vautrey, Met Office meteorologist, said Thursday night had “pretty ideal conditions” with “very little cloud”.

Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles.

As they collide, light is emitted at various wavelengths, creating colourful displays in the sky.

In the northern hemisphere, most of this activity takes place within a band known as the aurora oval, covering latitudes between 60 and 75 degrees.

When activity is strong, this expands to cover a greater area – which explains why displays can be occasionally seen as far south as the UK.

The Met Office said there might be another chance to see the lights on Friday night into Saturday, but Mr Vautrey added it looked as if it would be weaker.

Did you see the Northern Lights? Send your pictures to: sarah.mcgee@newsquest.co.uk.