Hundreds of people have made their way to the summits of Belfast’s Divis and Black Mountains to catch a glimpse of the spectacular Aurora Borealis – Northern Lights.
Families with children, professional photographers, and enthusiasts using camera phones, sought the perfect vantage point from which to witness the patterns of brilliant lights which covered the entire sky.
Normally only visible in high-latitude regions, around the Arctic and Antarctic, auroras appear as curtains, rays, spirals, or dynamic flickers.
To the delight of all those with their eyes skyward on Thursday night, the Northern Lights were visible right across Ulster to Malin Head in Inishowen, Co Donegal.
The activity was caused by a fast coronal mass ejection related to a large flare and filament combination, which left the Sun on October 9 and arrived at Earth through the second half of October 10.
Aurora Borealis was the term coined by the astronomer Galileo in 1619. The word aurora is derived from the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora, who was believed to travel from east to west announcing the coming of the sun.
According to the British Met Office, the chances of aurora remain initially, though gradually easing through October 11, becoming increasingly confined to far geomagnetic latitudes by October 13.
