People have shared their pictures of the Northern Lights above London after they appeared across the UK.

We asked readers to share any photos they took of the rare explosion of light on Friday night.

The Northern Lights illuminated huge areas of the night sky above the UK with pink and green.

Although sightings in the southern parts of the UK were rarer on Saturday, some people were in luck.

Ham & High: Anne Elicaño-Shields took a picture of the Aurora Borealis over Hampstead heath from her attack at 1.45am on May 11Anne Elicaño-Shields took a picture of the Aurora Borealis over Hampstead heath from her attack at 1.45am on May 11 (Image: Anne Elicaño-Shields)

Anne Elicaño-Shields took pictures of the sky over Hampstead Heath on Friday.

Sharing them on X, Anna said: "The perks of being a night owl. The #NorthernLights over Hampstead Heath at around 1.45am. Thanks for the heads up, @CityCorpHeath!" 

@kurilod said on X just before 11.30pm on May 10: "Just taken this from a window in Hampstead, NW3.

Ham & High: Northern lights taken from a window in Hampstead Northern lights taken from a window in Hampstead (Image: @kurilod)

"Can definitely see this with a naked eye, no filters on photos."

Grigory Sapunov took a picture of the skies above Highgate.

Ham & High: The skies above Highgate on Friday nightThe skies above Highgate on Friday night (Image: Grigory Sapunov)

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

As they collide, light is emitted at various wavelengths, creating colourful displays in the sky.

In the northern hemisphere, most of this activity takes place within a band known as the aurora oval, covering latitudes between 60 and 75 degrees.

When activity is strong, this expands to cover a greater area – which explains why displays can be occasionally seen as far south as the UK.

Ham & High: Dana Deelaruze captured the sky over Crouch End Dana Deelaruze captured the sky over Crouch End (Image: Dana Deelaruze)

They are visible at the moment because according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the earth was hit by a G5 geomagnetic storm on Thursday.

A G5 rating is considered “extreme” and the strongest level of solar storm.

The cause of this storm was a “large, complex” sunspot cluster, 17 times the diameter of Earth.

The last storm with a G5 rating hit Earth more than 20 years ago in October 2003 and caused power outages in Sweden.

Every 11 years, the sun’s poles reverse, causing bursts of solar activity resulting in northern lights.

Scientists predict the next solar maximum will occur at the end of 2024.

Additional reporting by PA