Northern lights could soon be back in skies over Britain

The pink and green strobes of the northern lights could return to UK skies soon, meteorologists have said. The rare phenomenon could be seen throughout the UK and as far south as France last Friday and Saturday night following a severe solar storm.

- ATHENA STAVROU

Breathtaking pictures displaying the colourful bands of light, technically known as the aurora borealis, were taken from across the country including Essex, Suffolk, Whitley Bay and Liverpool. For those who unfortunately missed the rare display, there is a chance they could see the lights from the comfort of their own homes in the future.

The latest solar storm activity follows a period of flares and mass ejections of coronal plasma that threatened to disrupt power and communications on Earth and in orbit. Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth's atmosphere around the magnetic poles.

Met Office space weather expert Krista Hammond said the sunspot region will rotate back towards Earth in 10 to 12 days' time, paving the way for further geomagnetic storms and displays of the northern lights. "The sunspot region will be coming back round onto the Earth-facing side of the sun," she said.