Brits stunned by dazzling Northern Lights display spotted as far south as Cornwall – and there are more to come

THE UK was graced with a dazzling display of the Aurora Borealis last night, which reached as far south as Cornwall.

Aurora Borealis – otherwise known as Northern Lights – are typically spotted in countries and areas closer to the magnetic north pole.

Tim White/pictureexclusive.comThe Northern Lights over the River Axe, Seaton in Devon on March 3[/caption]

Alister Gooding/pictureexclusive.comHorton Tower near Wimborne in Dorset with the Northern Lights last night[/caption]

Northern Lights seen over one of the iron men statues at Anthony Gormley’s Another Place, on Crosby Beach, Merseyside last nightPeter Byrne/PA Wire

But from time to time, folks further south are able to spot the bucket-list view.

Pictures flooded social media last night of people going out and taking a look at the Northern Lights near them.

Although there was plenty of posts from people who missed them.

Fortunately, there will be more Northern Lights to come that will be even brighter than last night’s event.

More to come

There is set to be a big uptick in Northern Lights sightings from this year through to 2025.

This is because we are entering the sun’s Solar Maximum.

During the Solar Maximum, the sun produces “dramatically more” auroral displays, Darren Baskill, a physics and astronomy lecturer at Sussex University, explains.

The five best places to see the Northern Lights near the UK

The Solar Maximum is when solar activity peaks, which occurs every 11 years or so.

The next high point had been forecast for July 2025.

However, the Solar Maximum will arrive earlier than expected, according to Nasa scientist Robert Leamon and Scott McIntosh, deputy director at the US National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

They say the cycle’s peak will occur a year earlier in mid-to-late 2024.

This means the best time of the decade to tick the Northern Lights off your bucket list is right around the corner.

How to see the Northern Lights

Sunspots – which kick out solar flares that cause Northern Lights – will become twice as likely during the Solar Maximum, which lasts between three and five years.

During the time, the displays will appear more vibrant with red, pink and purple hues which are typically more rare than the green waves.

Sunspots, black regions on the Sun’s surface, are particularly active areas that can ‘burp’ out solar wind in Earth’s direction.

When these streams of highly charged particles collide with the Earth’s magnetic field, they make the upper atmosphere glow.

This heightened era of activity is why humans are graced with such an epic sight.