Stargazers are on alert after experts raised the possibility that the Northern Lights could be about to make an appearance over the north of England.
AuroraWatch UK at Lancaster University issued its second highest alert - amber - on Sunday evening for sightings of the Aurora Borealis in the UK, including northern England.
At lunchtime today AuroraWatch UK said: “Possibility of aurora later if geomagnetic activity persists.”
The team at Aurora Watch monitor the magnetometers closely to detect when it is likely that aurora can be seen from the UK.
A natural wonder, the Northern Lights - otherwise known as aurora borealis - is associated with northern countries such as Norway, Finland and Sweden.
The Northern Lights are millions of charged particles that have streamed away from the sun via solar winds at speeds of one million miles per hour.
These super-fast charged particles then collide with molecules in the Earth’s upper atmosphere anywhere from 50 to 400 miles above the Earth’s surface.
When the solar wind’s magnetic polarity is the opposite to the Earth’s this causes them to flow into the magnetic North and South poles.
Cloud cover will block out the Norther Lights, so the best conditions is a clear, dark sky in remote areas with little light pollution.
* AuroraWatch can be followed on Twitter @aurorawatchuk and Facebook.