Crowds of sky gazers who had gathered to catch a glimpse of a second night of Northern Lights have been left disappointed so far.
On Friday night bands of pink and green light were seen across the UK and in parts of Europe after an ‘extreme’ geomagnetic storm caused them to be more visible, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Pictures shared by MailOnline readers revealed large swathes of the country from Teesside to the Isle of Wight draped in a spectacular fluorescent hue.
Experts predicted that the Aurora will light up Britain’s skies again on Saturday night in northern parts of the UK, including Scotland, Northern Ireland and the far north of England.
However, footage from the early hours of Sunday morning – showing crowds of people gathering to see the lights on London’s Parliament Hill – has surfaced.
Crowds of sky gazers gathered to catch a glimpse of a second night of Northern Lights
Hundreds of people gathered on Parliament Hill to capture the lights on their phones
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE: Hugh Hall snapped this pic of the lights at Great Brington, Northamptonshire at around midnight on Friday
LEICESTERSHIRE: John Middleditch snapped this incredible pic of the Old John Tower in Bradgate Park, Leicestershire being lit up by the lights on Friday
The person who took the video wrote in a captoin: ‘Thousands here tonight compared to last night. Activity seems to have decreased but fingers crossed. Also G5 storm possible tomorrow night.’
Chris Snell, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said there were sightings ‘from top to tail across the country’.
He said: ‘It is hard to fully predict what will happen in the Earth’s atmosphere, but there will still be enhanced solar activity tonight, so the lights could be visible again in northern parts of the UK, including Scotland, Northern Ireland and the far north of England.’
Mr Snell said there were sightings in parts of Europe on Friday night as well, with the Met Office receiving pictures and information from locations including Prague and Barcelona.
He advised those hoping to see the lights on Saturday to head to an area with low light pollution and to use a good camera, adding: ‘The best chance you have of seeing the lights is if you are away from street lights and areas with lots of light pollution, as any type of light does have a big effect.’
ESSEX: Northern lights taken at Brentwood Town Football Club by Zoey Martin on Friday
DARTMOOR: Cameron Grankish snapped this extraordinary pic of the light over Bowerman’s Nose, Dartmoor on Friday
YORKSHIRE: Vanessa Adams snapped this beautiful pic of the aurora in east Yorkshire on Friday
EASTBOURNE: Luke Rogers had a perfect view of the lights from his flat near Sovereign Harbour in Eastbourne on Friday
‘Also, at this time of year, we are fighting the shorter length of nights, so it is unlikely that they will be visible until around 10.30pm or 11 o’clock when it gets really dark.’
Sightings in southern parts of the UK are less likely on Saturday, although Mr Snell said the lights might be visible through a strong camera lens.
The last storm with a G5 rating hit Earth more than 20 years ago in October 2003 and caused power outages in Sweden, Professor Carole Haswell told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme on Saturday morning.
