Also known as Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights is a fairly rare occurrence in the UK, especially in the South. But recently due to high solar activity and solar flares on the sun, the phenomenon has been popping up a lot closer to home. 

On March 23 the lights were photoed over Lanivet near Bodmin. The images show a bright flare of red painted over the starry night sky. 

The Kernow Weather team explained: “These solar flares give out massive clouds of electricity charged particles which interact with the gases in the atmosphere producing a beautiful light show. Normally only seen at the poles but as the KP index was so high at 7 we were able to capture this phenomenon closer to home.” 

The intensity or brightness of the Northern Lights is measured on the KP scale which ranges from 0-10.  The normal level usually sits between 1-4. At this level, the lights can be seen from the top of Europe. However, when the KP index begins to move up towards levels 5 -10 or Geometric Storm level, the lights can be seen from the UK and further across Europe.