The Northern Lights have once again shown vibrant colors in the British night sky, with stunning images captured across the country.

The lights, also known as aurora borealis, were only expected to be seen as far south as the Midlands, but Wednesday evening was the strongest and most widespread display of the phenomenon in Britain since May, according to BBC Weather.

With solar activity declining, it may still be possible for people in some northern areas to see the lights on Friday, but elsewhere the chances are slim, said Simon King, the BBC’s chief weather presenter.

BBC weather watchers‘ Readers and viewers submitted almost 5,000 photos of the lights – here are some of the best, along with some agency photos and snaps shared with the BBC on social media.

Mr King said the Northern Lights were visible across Britain and continental Europe “after an extreme geomagnetic storm – G5”, the highest on the scale of 1 to 5.

“From around 7pm BST,” he said, many people were able to view the aurora. It then “weakened slightly” for a time, before “coming back even stronger around midnight and lasting until dawn on Friday.”

Meteorologists recommend that a long exposure camera be used to capture the auroras, as the phenomenon is not always visible to the naked eye.

However, many people reported being able to see some colors further south with the naked eye.

“What used to be a once-in-a-lifetime event for people in Britain – or a bucket list trip to the Arctic Circle – has become increasingly common in the last few years,” said King.

Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles.

As they collide, light is emitted at different wavelengths, creating colorful displays in the sky.

The aurorae are most commonly observed above high polar latitudes and are mainly influenced by geomagnetic storms that originate from solar activity.

Britain has seen more of the Northern Lights in 2024 than in many recent years.

BBC chief weather presenter Simon King said the increased sightings in Britain were helped by the sun reaching a “maximum” in its 11-year solar cycle.

He said: “During this maximum, the number of sunspots increases, leading to more coronal mass ejections that send charged particles towards Earth, creating the aurora.”

“With generally high solar activity and lots of sunspots, there’s a good chance we’ll get more of these coronal mass ejections to Earth in the coming months.”

However, experts say that while it will still be possible to see the Northern Lights in Britain once the sun has passed its zenith, stargazers should expect a “gradual decline” in visibility.

The aurorae will be especially visible in 2024 due to the largest geomagnetic storm since 2003, according to Sean Elvidge, professor of spaceflight at the University of Birmingham.

Craig Snell, a weather forecaster at the Met Office, said a solar storm caused a powerful solar flare on Wednesday, which arrived in our atmosphere on Thursday evening.

He said the strength of the lights would ebb and flow throughout the evening, but the lights could be captured at different times throughout the night.