Northern Lights

Stargazers all over Britain may witness the extraordinary light-show of the aurora borealis over the next few evenings, as solar flares created by huge particles blasted out of the Sun enter our atmosphere.

This rare opportunity to see the celestial spectacle follows a storm on the Sun that has produced the most powerful solar flare in the last four years.

The flares were accompanied by an eruption on the Sun that can hurl a billion tonnes of particles into space at a time.

Displays of the Northern Lights have already been seen further south than usual, in Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK.

The Sun's activity rises and falls over an 11-year cycle and over the next two years is expected to peak as it reaches what astronomers call the "Solar Max".