Aurora lights up Yorkshire skies

The northern lights, otherwise known as the aurora borealis, are a spectacular natural phenomenon resulting in an assortment of colours, patterns and lights caused by the different effects of space weather on Earth.

The sun ejects billions of tonnes of electrons every day ,and when this electron stream is intense it interacts with the earth's magnetic field and excites atoms in the upper atmosphere, making them emit light of different colours.

It is much the same effect that makes a fluorescent light bulb shine.

The Northern Lights appear as large areas of colour including pale green, pink, shades of red, yellow, blue and violet in the direction due north.

During a weak aurora, the colours are very faint and spread-out, whereas an intense aurora features greater numbers of and brighter colours which can be seen higher in the sky with a distinct arc.

The Northern Lights are best seen in darkness, away from any light pollution. They generally extend from 50 miles to as high as 400 miles above the Earth's surface.

If the night is clear, it's always worth looking to the north to see if the aurora is shining - but it is best seen well away from artificial light.

JON MITCHELL