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NI skies bathed in glorious colours of Northern Lights

Camlake Canvas A walkway runs away from shore and the northern lights are displayed in the background Camlake Canvas
Lough Melvin in County Fermanagh looks bathed in colour from the Northern Lights

The Northern lights, known as the Aurora Borealis, dominated the skies as they made their return to Northern Ireland on Thursday night.

The lights also made an appearance in the night sky over parts of Scotland and England, as far as the south coast in Sussex.

Many people sent in their dazzling photos.

Brian C A women's silhouette is seen in the foreground with the Northern lights in the backgroundBrian C
The Northern Lights shine above Limavady, County Londonderry
Jonathan A house sits on the beach, the sky above is a purple glow, not the traditional appearance of the northern lightsJonathan
Spectacular skies above Bangor, County Down
Aisling Kelly A grave stone with the northern lights in the background Aisling Kelly
The night sky as seen from a graveyard in Carrickmore, County Tyrone
Brian C A grey stone cottage sits in the foreground of a green-purple glow form the sky behind and above itBrian C
A house in Portstewart sits beneath a glorious display of lights
Urban Fox Hills sit to the right of a cove, a purple green glow from the northern lights dominates the top half of the frameUrban Fox
Purple dominates the sky above the Cushendall coast
Happy Snapper A predominantly pink blend of the northern lights, a silhouette of a tree is to the right of the frame, a telephone wire runs along the bottom of the shot Happy Snapper
A stunning mix of colours above the night sky in Limavady on Thursday evening
Evektor97 A church sits in the foreground of the northern lightsEvektor97
An illuminating display in the Newry skies

What causes the Northern Lights to appear?

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

The Northern Lights appear as bright, swirling curtains of lights in the night sky and range in colour from green to pink and scarlet.

It is caused by charged particles from the sun collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere around the magnetic poles.

The colours occur due to different gases in the Earth's atmosphere being energised by the charged particles.

The two most common gases in the Earth's atmosphere are nitrogen and oxygen. Oxygen atoms glow green - the colour most often seen in the Northern Lights, while nitrogen atoms emit purple, blue and pink.

The most impressive auroras occur when the Sun emits really large clouds of particles called "coronal mass ejections".