THE Emerald Isle turned an even stronger shade of green on Tuesday night after the Northern Lights appeared above the skies of Ireland.
The natural light display – also known as Aurora Borealis – is a relatively rare sight in Ireland and Britain due to our southerly latitude when compared to countries closer to the Arctic Circle.
Luckily, the ever-reliable Irish public were on hand to capture the spectacle in areas across the island of Ireland.
Images taken in places as far apart as Donegal, to the northwest, and the Boyne Valley, to the east, were all treated to the lightshow.
Aurora occurs when charged particles from the Sun are blown into the upper atmosphere by solar winds and deflected away by Earth’s magnetic field.
The breathtaking colours seen wherever the Northern Lights appear are caused by the electrically-charged particles colliding with gases in Earth’s atmosphere such as oxygen, nitrogen and carbon dioxide.
Check out the stunning images below…
The Northern Lights from Ballintoy in County Antrim this evening. Photo by Kenneth Wood. #Aurora #Ireland pic.twitter.com/iq7jvl5LiU
— Barra Best (@barrabest) November 7, 2017
@barrabest @Aurora_ireland Northern Lights at Craigavon Lakes 7/11/17 #AuroraBorealis pic.twitter.com/Tu45gY7elE
— Paul Wharton (@paulwharton1970) November 8, 2017
Lucky to catch the Northern Lights tonight from home @Ballinderry Bridge @WeatherCee @newslineweather @BallinderryGAC @patsymcglone @Aurora_ireland pic.twitter.com/oc06QP0OKt
— John O'Neill (@Sperrinsphotos) November 7, 2017
Never expected such a display at 22.30 of #aurora with a moon @Aurora_ireland here in the #Burren pic.twitter.com/DvqUjPnzUU
— John Underhill (@burrenvet) November 8, 2017
@Aurora_ireland @aurorawatch Despite bright moonlight still a bright green arc of aurora at 9.45pm tonight. pic.twitter.com/kkhhybj8dp
— GallowayAstroCentre (@Gallowayastro) November 7, 2017
Tonight's #aurora #Donegal #Letterkenny Peak around 7.40pm #coolestplace @donegalcouncil @govisitdonegal pic.twitter.com/K4SMqfsLJH
— DonegalMaps (@DonegalMaps) November 7, 2017
Aurora east-west arc over Belfast with Plough constellation. Pic by @paulmoane @StormHour @Aurora_ireland @PictureIreland @GrahamPenrose2 pic.twitter.com/Ix8XmBL6eX
— PAUL MOANE (@paulmoane) November 7, 2017
@barrabest @ILoveNorthCoast @Aurora_ireland @TweetAurora @SkyeAuroras Earlier from Portballintrae Co Antrim pic.twitter.com/By3tss5cX2
— Kathleen Millar (@kmmillar2000) November 7, 2017
#Aurora #Timelapse #Donegal is spectacular 24/7 #coolestplace @Aurora_ireland @StormHour @donegalcouncil pic.twitter.com/b3hE5qd2QC
— DonegalMaps (@DonegalMaps) November 7, 2017
