00:00This is not the Arctic or the North Pole, it's actually Oxfordshire and this
00:09Edinburgh, Northumberland and North Tyneside. Brits lucky enough to have a
00:15cloudless sky this week may have caught a glimpse of the epic Northern Lights
00:19and for the UK it's not the first time. The spectacular Aurora Borealis as it's
00:24known have become more visible over the years to us on the British Isles but why?
00:29Well it all comes down to science. The Royal Astronomical Society say the Sun
00:35is having a bit of a moment right now. It is currently in its most active period
00:40in an 11-year cycle causing heightened periods of solar storms which in turn
00:44create these stunning vistas. The solar wind reacts with gas particles in the
00:50Earth's atmosphere such as oxygen and nitrogen and emit different coloured
00:54lights in our skies. The Met Office say if you want to catch the display you've
00:58got to avoid light pollution, face north and catch them when the Sun is most
01:03active that's during the summer equinox and the winter solstice which happens to
01:08be in September and October. So keep your eyes to the skies.
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