The northern lights dance over northern England

[January 25, 2012]  LONDON (AP) -- The northern lights have lit up the skies above Scotland and northern England after the biggest solar storm in more than six years bombarded Earth with radiation.

Ken Kennedy, director of the Aurora section of the British Astronomical Association, said Tuesday the lights, also known as the aurora borealis, may be visible for a few more days.

The northern lights are sometimes seen from northern parts of Scotland but the unusual solar activity this week means the lights have also been visible from northeast England and Ireland, a rarity.

A solar flare from the sun Sunday has pulled the northern lights farther south, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Weather Prediction Center in Colorado.

[Associated Press]

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