Northern sights: aurora borealis lights up the skies

The northern lights lit up the skies this week with stunning bright pink hues as the sun approaches the peak of its 11-year solar cycle.

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Photos of the natural phenomenon, also known as the aurora borealis, were captured on Thursday night as far south as London, Kent and East Anglia - and experts have said there may be more to come. Farther north, in Lancaster, Prof Jim Wild, 49, viewed the northern lights from his garden. The academic, who researches the aurora at Lancaster University, said: “My research focuses on the physics of the connections between the sun and the Earth. Over the years I have been to the Arctic Circle several times