'Absolute chaos' on Dartmoor as people flock to see Northern Lights

Mary Stenson

12 May 2024 at 5:57 am·2-min read

There was chaos on Dartmoor last night (May 11) as crowds gathered to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights. Long queues of traffic formed along the roads through the beauty spot, which experts said would be one of the best places to watch the spectacular lights display.

Last night was the second time this weekend that a display of the Northern Lights, also known as Aurora Borealis, was forecast for the UK. On Friday night (May 10), the skies of Devon and Cornwall were lit up in incredible shades of pink, purple blue and green.

It's a rare sight this far south in the UK but the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said visibility was increased on Friday because of an "extreme" geomagnetic storm heading towards Earth. The lights we see are caused by particles colliding with gases in the Earth's atmosphere around the magnetic poles.

There was another opportunity to see the lights again last night but it was less likely than the previous night. After it was predicted that Friday's display would be best seen from Dartmoor, hundreds of people flocked to the national park to try and see it again on Saturday.

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Traffic between Princetown and Yelverton as people head onto Dartmoor to see the Northern Lights -Credit:Submitted

One person who was driving between Princetown and Yelverton last night captured footage of slow traffic in the area. They said it was "absolute chaos" with cars parked up on both sides of the road.

They said: " Dartmoor is in absolute chaos tonight as people flock to try and catch a glimpse of Aurora Borealis for the second night running. Aurora Borealis otherwise known as the Northern Lights has been predicted to give us a spectacular show yet again this evening.

"This is causing havoc as seen here on route between Princetown and Yelverton with cars parking, both sides of the road and even more on route."

"This was 11pm coming back from Princetown. Luckily only stuck for around 15 minutes. Didn't see anything."

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