If any of our lovely blog readers happened to look up at the skies over Snowdonia last night then many may have noticed an unusual phenomenon…. The Northern Lights over North Wales meant that the skies came to life last night, and were lit up in stunning shades of green, pink and red.

The Northern Lights are an astrological phenomenon usually associated with a visit to Norway or other northern countries, but every now and then we are treated here in the UK to rare sighting. But just what are the Northern Lights, and why can we only see them so irregularly?

The Northern Lights is the common name for Aurora Borealis, which is a kind of natural light display in the sky. The reason they occur is pretty complicated and beyond our basic science knowledge, but briefly it happens because the solar wind (a flow of particles that escape from the sun) disturbs Earth’s atmosphere and magnetic field. The reaction that happens causes bursts of extraordinary light particles – that we see in the night sky.

The Northern Lights are usually only visible in northern regions because they are closer to the Earth’s northern magnetic field, but occasionally, as happened last night, the solar wind was strong enough to disturb magnetic fields as far south as Oxfordshire in England.

The name Aurora Borealis comes from the Roman Goddess of Dawn, Aurora, and the Greek name for the Northern Wind – Borealis. Scientists Galileo named the phenomenon in the seventeenth century – was before any of the sophisticated technology we have today was available.

However they are caused, the Northern Lights are certainly a stunning sight, and one that has been fascinating humans for centuries. In medieval times they were thought to be a sign from God of a miracle about to occur, whilst Native Americans believed they were the spirits of lost friends and family.

If conditions are clear enough tonight, you may be lucky enough to spot them again in the night sky later, especially in northern regions. The Northern Lights over North Wales – what a beautiful sight!

Image by 14jbella on wikicommons