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Northern Lights shine across Northern Ireland

News imageBBC weather watcher / Ray McDonald The Northern Lights lighting up the sky in pink and green colours. A white lighthouse and a harbour is at the bottom of the image. BBC weather watcher / Ray McDonald
The Northern Lights visible at Donaghadee in County Down on Tuesday night

Stargazers across Northern Ireland were able to witness the Northern Lights Tuesday night.

The Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, are vibrant light displays that occur in the sky, usually near the polar regions.

The lights have been visible because the Sun is going through an active phase experiencing a number of eruptions, called Coronal Mass Ejections. These send solar particles towards the Earth.

It is the interaction of these particles with the Earth's atmosphere that create the stunning light displays seen in the night sky.

News imageBBC weather watcher / Maureen The Northern Lights lighting up the sky in shades of pink. A row of trees are visible at the bottom of the image. BBC weather watcher / Maureen
The lights dazzled the sky at Helen's Bay
News imageBBC weather watcher / Johnny The Northern Lights lighting up the sky in shades of green and pink. BBC weather watcher / Johnny
The Northern Lights were also seen in Downpatrick, County Down

According to the UK Met Office Space Weather forecast, the best chance of seeing the Northern Lights or aurora will be across the northern half of the UK.

The best way to see the lights are when the sky is dark, clear of any clouds and in a place with minimal light pollution. The aurora is sometimes more clearly viewed through a camera lens.

News imageBBC weather watcher/ Louis The Northern Lights lighting up the sky in shades of pink and green. A row of trees are visible at the bottom of the image. BBC weather watcher/ Louis
The sky lit up at Rostrevor, County Down on Tuesday night
News imageBBC weather watcher / Paddy The Northern Lights lighting up the sky in shades of pink and green. A row of trees and an electricity pole are visible at the bottom of the image. BBC weather watcher / Paddy
The sky in Carnagh, County Armagh was lit up in shades of pink

There is to be a good chance of seeing the Northern Lights in the UK again on Wednesday evening and night.

However, the Met Office is forecasting a cloudy night with rain in Northern Ireland on Wednesday. It says the rain is expected to be patchy at first and then turning persistent and heavy in places in the late evening and night.

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