Could the spectacular Northern lights display that entranced sky-watchers across the UK last night even be seen from Cornwall?
The @Cornwallskies Twitter account posted an image and tweeted: “Looking north tonight in East Cornwall. There are no towns causing light pollution nearby to the north, just Bodmin Moor. We are also a ‘dark sky’ area, I think this could be the Northern Lights."
The image was very dark with a faint green glow in the distance.
One reply said: “I looked north from St Ives last night ... and there was a dim glow in the north over the sea . Was quite a bright moon so I presumed it was sea mist and moon light, but perhaps it was the Northern Lights?”
The Aurora Borealis was visible across large swathes of Scotland and England last night as temperatures fell and high pressure brought clear skies.
However, the Met Office has said the display is likely to be visible only as far south as central England.
![SWNS STORY SWNAurora](https://www.voicenewspapers.co.uk/tindle-static/image/2023/02/27/9/uk-sky-watchers--968603.jpg?width=669&height=445&crop=669:445)
A Met Office spokesperson said the rare sightings of the Aurora Borealis further south in the UK on Sunday night were due to the 'strength' of a geomagnetic storm and the 'strip of cloudless skies' in southern regions.
The aurora is usually seen only close to the Earth's poles. Royal Museums Greenwich explains: "The lights we see in the night sky are in actual fact caused by activity on the surface of the Sun.
"Solar storms on our star's surface give out huge clouds of electrically charged particles. These particles can travel millions of miles, and some may eventually collide with the Earth.
"Most of these particles are deflected away, but some become captured in the Earth’s magnetic field, accelerating down towards the north and south poles into the atmosphere. This is why aurora activity is concentrated at the magnetic poles."
Could you see the Northern Lights from Cornwall? Let us know by email at [email protected]