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Northern Lights above Britain: Stunning Aurora Borealis illuminates Northumberland sky on Christmas Eve

The ethereal spectacle illuminated the early morning sky

Kashmira Gander
Wednesday 24 December 2014 16:52 GMT
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An Aurora is seen on the horizon behind Bamburgh Lighthouse in Northumberland.
An Aurora is seen on the horizon behind Bamburgh Lighthouse in Northumberland.

Parts of Northeast England were treated to a breathtaking display of Northern Lights on the morning of Christmas Eve, to rival the spectacles of the Arctic circle.

In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Aurora Borealis illuminated the sky in shades of green and pink.

Images taken near Bamburg Castle, Northumberland, show the phenomenon in all its glory, as captivated photographers attempted to document the scene.

Before the display can be seen by the naked eye, solar win blows electrons and protons from the Sun’s atmosphere towards the Earth.

The natural wonder occurs when these charged particles collide in the Earth’s atmosphere, and are most striking above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres.

These particles are deflected by the Earth's magnetic field but as it is weaker at either pole, some particles enter the atmosphere and collide with gas particles.

Therefore, areas closer to the North Pole, such as Iceland and Norway, are host to the most vivid Northern Lights.

In the southern hemisphere, they are known as the Aurora Australis and can often be mirror-like images that occur at the same time as in the north.

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