Northern lights and Perseid meteor showers offer a spectacular spectacle

Sign up for a complete roundup of the week’s best opinions in our Voices Dispatches email.

Subscribe to our free weekly Voices newsletter

Stargazers were rewarded with a breathtaking sight as the Perseid meteor shower swept across the sky and the Northern Lights were visible in some areas.

The Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, put on a stunning display across the UK on Monday evening, with sightings reported as far south as Cornwall.

Marina Muttik, 29, a software engineer who lives in Berkhamsted, Herts, but watched the Northern Lights and Perseid meteor shower from Chesham, Buckinghamshire, described the experience as “humbling”.

She told the PA news agency: “The aurora reached its peak at around 11.30pm, at which time the pink was more visible to the naked eye.

“It’s always a moving feeling to watch the night sky, and the Perseid meteor shower added a touch of magic – perfect for making a wish.”

Kirsty Louise, 30, from Plymouth, Devon, took photos of the meteor shower with her phone at around 11.20pm on Monday.

She told PA: “Funny thing is, I couldn’t really see what I saw on my phone. When I saw the photos, it made me happy. I love anything to do with space, so seeing that and knowing I captured it on my phone made me happy.”

In Northumberland, shooting stars from the Perseid meteor shower were seen streaking across the sky, which turned purple and green over the bathhouse in Howick.

According to the Met Office, the Northern Lights are usually best viewed in Scotland, northern England, northern Wales and Northern Ireland.

However, under certain space weather conditions – a particularly strong geomagnetic storm – they can be seen across the UK.

The natural light show is caused by charged particles from the sun interacting with the earth’s magnetic field.

The color display depends partly on which molecules the charged particles interact with.

According to the Met Office weather forecast, activity is expected to return to baseline levels on Tuesday, with visible auroras then likely to be limited to the far north of Scotland.

Thanks to clear skies across the country, people were also able to catch a glimpse of the Perseids on Monday night.

The event is related to the dusty remains of the comet Swift-Tuttle, which orbits the sun once every 133 years.

The comet’s meteoroids, which are usually no larger than a grain of sand, burn up when they hit the Earth’s atmosphere at 58 kilometers per second, creating a flash of light in the sky.