Skies above York lit up by spectacular Northern Lights display

The lights were photographed over St Peter’s School; in the skies above Rufforth and Acomb – and across our region, from Cawood in the south to Sledmere and Garrowby Hill in the east and Thirsk in the north.

It was part of an amazing night which saw the lights visible across the whole country, from Cambridge to Liverpool – and even across the Irish sea in Dublin.

Among the most spectacular images in our region was one captured by Jay Commins at Garrowby Hill.

“Incredible colours from the top of Garrowby Hill,” he said. “Nature is magnificent!”

Jay Commins’ image of the Northern Lights at Garrowby Hill (Image: Jay Commins)

Andy Falconer, meanwhile, captured a series of amazing photographs of the lights appearing in the skies above St Peter’s School.

You couldn’t see much with the naked eye, he said. “But when you point your phone up…”

The Northern Lights above St Peter’s School (Image: Andy Falconer)

Another of Andy Falconer’s images of the northern Lights above St Peter’s School (Image: Andy Falconer)

Dean Merchant photographed the light from his back garden in Holgate…

Dean Merchant’s image of the Northern Lights taken from his back garden in Holgate (Image: Dean Merchant)

… while Clare Tolan Williams captured what she described as  ‘a stunning show’ in the night skies above Strensall.

Clare Tolan Williams captured what she described as  ‘a stunning show’ in the night skies above Strensall (Image: Clare Tolan Williams)

Another truly spectacular image was photographed by Stephen Raine in the skies above the Sledmere Monument in East Yorkshire.

Stephen Raine’s photograph of the Northern Lights at the Sledmere Monument in East Yorkshire (Image: Stephen Raine)

Northern Lights displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles.

In the northern hemisphere, most of this activity takes place in the far north, within a band known as the ‘aurora oval’ covering latitudes between 60 and 75 degrees.

When activity is strong, however,  this expands to cover a greater area – which explains why displays can be occasionally seen as far south as the UK.

John Manley took this photo of the Northern Lights in Cawood (Image: John Manley)

The visibility of the Northern Lights was increased on Friday because of an ‘extreme’ geomagnetic storm, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The NOAA said the G5 geomagnetic storm, which is considered extreme and is the strongest level of geomagnetic storm, hit earth on Thursday and could affect communications, GPS and power grids.

The cause of this storm was a ‘large, complex’ sunspot cluster.

Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said there was a chance the conditions which led to the northern lights appearing in the skies above York last night might continue tonight – so if you missed them last night it might be worth keeping an eye out again tonight.

Here are some more images from our region:

Jess Paylor took this photo in Strensall (Image: Jess Paylor)

The Northern Lights above Thirsk (Image: Emma Richardson)

Phil Aistone’s view of the Northern Lights above the streets of York (Image: Phil Aistone)