EUROPE: A stunning present of the Northern Lights has been seen in Northumberland with the dancing colours able to be seen to the naked eye.
The beautiful spectacle was seen in the early hours of Christmas Eve, as colours of green and pink appeared in the sky.
Known as the Aurora Borealis, the natural wonder is caused by charged particles colliding in the Earth’s atmosphere.
Press Association photographers Owen Humphreys and Tom White braved the cold to capture the display, that could be seen near Bamburgh lighthouse, in Northumberland.
It is believed the light show, which was also captured across Northumberland National Park, was caused by a strong solar storm which began on December 20th.
Aurora are one effect of energetic particles which can speed out from the sun both in a steady stream called the solar wind and due to giant eruptions known as coronal mass ejections, or CMEs.
After a trip toward Earth that can last two to three days, the solar particles and magnetic fields cause the release of particles already trapped near Earth.
This in turn trigger reactions in the upper atmosphere in which oxygen and nitrogen molecules are released a particles of light.
The strong solar flare which created this aurora triggered a radio blackout for parts of Earth over the weekend, according to an alert from the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center.
Usually the best spots to see the lights are those places close to the North Pole, such as Iceland and Norway.
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