Video Of The Week - Spectacular Northern Lights Light Up European Skies

For thousands of years, the Northern Lights have been putting up an incredible show in the skies above Europe, Alaska, Canada, Russia and if the solar flares are strong enough, even Northeast USA. This year was no different. On Thursday, February 28th, the annual phenomenon lit up the skies of the U.K. and Northern Ireland with beautiful hues of greens and reds, mesmerizing the residents fortunate enough to see them.

Also known as aurora borealis, the annual lights are formed when gaseous particles in the earth's atmosphere collide with charged particles from the sun. Though they appear around late autumn and early spring each year, nobody is able to predict exactly what day. They light up the skies whenever they are ready. And while pale green and pink are the most common colors, shades of yellow, red, blue and violet have also been sighted.

Resources: news.yahoo.com,telegraph.co.uk