Northern Lights make appearance across Northern Ireland sky – in pictures

The sky was aglow in parts of Northern Ireland on Sunday night as the Northern Lights made an appearance.

The weather phenomenon, also known as aurora borealis, was visible mostly across parts of the Antrim Coast, Co Derry, Co Fermanagh and Co Tyrone.

The display is caused by charged particles from the sun hitting gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, in a similar way to how fluorescent light tubes and neon signs work.

It is most active in March and September, according to the Met Office, during the Equinox. This is the time of year when the Earth is not tilted towards or away from the Sun.

The Northern Lights don’t happen every night, only when a radiation storm or geomagnetic storm occurs in the Earth’s atmosphere.

In the UK, the greatest probability of seeing the Northern Lights is in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England. They can be seen best at night with a clear sky.

Take a look through our photo gallery below for stunning images of the weather phenomenon across Northern Ireland.

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BelfastLive – Co Tyrone