Light show treat for East Anglia

  • Anglia
The Northern Lights in Bannister Green, Felsted, Essex Credit: Wendy Clark

People in Essex and Norfolk experienced something rather special as they turned their eyes to the heavens last night (Thursday 27 February) - a rare glimpse of the Northern Lights.

Spectacular red and green lights of the Aurora Borealis lit up skies as far south as Gloucestershire, Essex and Norfolk, the result of a strong magnetic storm.

The Northern Lights are usually visible in only the more northern parts of the UK, but a surge in geomagnetic activity last night led to them appearing much further south than usual.

The display occurs when explosions on the surface of the Sun hurl huge amounts of charged particles into space, according to the British Geological Survey (BGS).

The Northern Lights behind Cley Windmill, Norfolk Credit: Brian Egan

Those thrown towards Earth are captured by its magnetic field and guided towards the geomagnetic polar regions. Charged particles collide with gas molecules in the atmosphere, and the subsequent energy is given off as light.

Geomagnetic storms follow an 11-year "solar cycle", and the last "solar maximum" was last year, according to the BGS.

If you took a picture of the Northern Lights we would love to see it - send your images to anglianews@itv.com or angliaweather@itv.com