Northern Lights shimmer in stunning photos over East Midlands
Multi-coloured hues from the Northern Lights illuminated the skies across Nottinghamshire and Leicestershire.Against a backdrop of star-filled skies, BBC Weather Watchers captured a series of spectacular images of the Aurora Borealis on Wednesday, between 22:00 and 23:00 BST.A geomagnetic solar storm strengthened the aurora, bringing it southwards towards the United Kingdom.The Northern Lights are caused by the interaction of solar wind - a stream of charged particles escaping the Sun - and our planet's magnetic field and atmosphere.
There have been frequent sightings of the aurora in the UK over the last year.The sun is currently at a "maximum" in its 11-year solar cycle.This means there are lots of sunspots on the surface which are like volcanoes and occasionally erupt. They are also known as Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) and release extra material and energy out to space.
If directed towards Earth, our magnetic field pulls the energy into Earth, entering our atmosphere at the poles.Fast solar winds are likely on 20 April, according to the Met Office Space Weather forecast, meaning "active" intervals are possible.
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