Northern Lights Pictured Shining On UK

Stunning images of the Northern Lights have been snapped in Wales.

Kim Price took the photos near her home in Llangollen, Denbighshire, on Thursday night when she headed out to view the aurora borealis - which are normally only visible inside the Arctic circle.

The wedding photographer told Sky News she saw faint green lights above Valle Crucis Abbey - but had no idea what she had captured until she got home and downloaded them on to her computer.

"I was so delighted when I saw them, I had no idea how lucky I'd been. I'm absolutely amazed," she said.

"It was quite spooky up there near the abbey, but it was a very clear night with no air pollution and I thought there might be a good chance of seeing the northern lights."

Ms Price, 48, added: "I could see streaks in the sky, but the colours were very faint, and I was using long exposure which I'd never really tried before.

"Things that you can't see with the naked eye pick up loads of detail because it takes 30 seconds to take, so I had no idea how amazing the photos were until I got home to the computer screen."

Scientists say the natural light display came as far south as the M4 corridor on Thursday night.

The lights appear as shimmering green waves of light when atoms in the Earth's high-altitude atmosphere collide with energetic charged particles from the sun.

Joe Kunches, from The Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) in Colorado, said: "The geomagnetic storm that drives the aurora structure south is beginning right now.

"We're not sure how strong the storm will be but if it follows predictions there's a good chance of seeing it in southern Britain."

The SWPC predicted that the displays measured on what is called the KP Index could rise from a reading of one, which makes it visible in northern Scandinavia, to a reading of seven, visible in Wales and England.

The Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska predicted that the lights should have been visible at least as far south as Edinburgh.

A key factor in viewing the lights was how clear the skies were, with cloud forecast over much of the UK.

The last few days have seen a peak in aurora activity as a solar flare erupting from the sun cast radiation towards the earth on January 7.

The strongest lights were predicted on Thursday and Friday. Saturday's forecast is for much lower activity.

:: Did you take pictures of the Northern Lights over Britain or Ireland last night? Send you photos to Sky News by emailing the newsdesk on news@sky.com or text your pictures to 84501. Remember to include a contact number.

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