More sightings of the Northern Lights with stunning bright colours

The Northern Lights were seen in the UK again on Monday night following an increase in solar activity over the last few days.

Since Friday night, there have been some spectacular displays as far south as southern England.

Eruptions from the Sun's surface sending energy towards Earth are now starting to decline, meaning fewer potential sightings of the aurora borealis.

However, the Met Office Space Weather Prediction Centre suggests there is a low chance of a "glancing blow" of energy on Tuesday night where the aurora could reappear in northern Scotland.

When charged particles from the Sun are guided by Earth's magnetic field towards the poles, they collide with gases high in the atmosphere.

Each colour tells its own story, and on a clear night, the sky above becomes a window into the science of our atmosphere.

As they do, they release energy as light. The colour that appears depends on two things: which gas is hit and how high up the collision happens.

From the familiar greens of oxygen collisions to the exceptionally rare blues of nitrogen far below, every aurora is a unique display shaped by the Sun, Earth's magnetic field and the gases that surround our planet.

The most common aurora colour, and the one most people picture when they think of the Northern Lights.

Green occurs between 60 and 120 miles (100 and 190km) above Earth, when solar energy collides with oxygen.

Red hues are a sign of a very strong geomagnetic storm.

They appear above 150 miles (240km), where solar particles hit oxygen at much higher altitudes.

A red aurora is rarer and harder to catch than green, but spectacular when it appears.

This colour is associated with fast, active nights of aurora activity.

Purple occurs between 60 and 100 miles (100 and 160km) up, when solar energy hits nitrogen rather than oxygen.

Blue is the rarest of all.

It appears below 60 miles (100km) and is the lowest of the aurora colours.

It is caused by solar energy hitting nitrogen.

If you ever see blue in the sky, you are witnessing something truly exceptional.

Each colour tells its own story, and on a clear night, the sky above becomes a window into the science of our atmosphere. From the familiar greens of oxygen collisions to the exceptionally rare blues of nitrogen far below, every aurora is a unique display shaped by the Sun, Earth's magnetic field and the gases that surround our planet.