Photo by Ronan B: https://www.pexels.com/photo/stunning-northern-lights-over-english-countryside-28964514/ Northern Lights over English CountrysideIf your social media feeds are anything like mine, this week kicked off with photo after photo of the northern lights lighting up the sky in your friends’ back gardens. Why we can see northern lights in the UKOn their website, Royal Museums Greenwich explained that the lights we see in the night sky are caused by activity on the surface of the Sun. However, the northern lights have very occasionally been seen as far south as Cornwall and Brighton. The ‘cone’ cells are sensitive to colour but need plenty of light in order to function, whereas the “rods” cells are sensitive to low light levels but cannot distinguish colour. How to find out when the northern lights are visible in the UK?

Source: Huffington Post January 21, 2026 15:27 UTC