Northern Lights illuminate Teesside

THE RARE SPECTACLE WAS SEEN ACROSS THE REGION ON FRIDAY NIGHT AFTER A SOLAR STORM

TEESSIDERS were left stunned when they looked up to the night sky and saw a spectacular display of Northern Lights.

In rare and stunning sightings last night the colours could be seen across the UK as a massive solar storm brought a beautiful aurora borealis to the skies.

The Northern Lights came as the most powerful solar storm in almost 20 years hit Earth.

And, Teessiders were out with their cameras to catch shots of the amazing display, which many have shared with Teesside Live.

Steve Brown said: “I was lucky enough to see the spectacular display of aurora last night from near Stokesley. The display was incredible, especially in the late evening. It was right overhead and I could see rays of various colours streaming down to the horizon.”

Among others who captured the scene were Ben Powell, in Marton, Aaron Bond, in Sadberge, Adam Lovie, in Guisborough, Georgia Thompson and Chris Whiles, in Saltburn, Rob Smith, in Darlington, Adrian Dennis, in Linthorpe, Jilly Ske, in Acklam, Joanne Ball, in Ingleby Barwick and Laura Cartwright captured a photo of her dog Maggie with the lights in Redcar.

The Northern Lights occur when charged particles from the sun collide with gases in Earth’s atmosphere. These collisions emit light at various wavelengths, creating the colours in the sky.