Stunning images from south Devon's Aurora Borealis

The display could be seen by the naked eye across most of Devon on Friday and Saturday night, although to capture the best images use a smartphone or camera on a long exposure night setting, held very still or ideally with a tripod.

Usually only visible in more northern parts of the UK, the entire country was treated to a display no one will forget, due to an extreme geomagnetic storm hitting Earth as the sun approaches its solar maximum – an 11 year cycle when there are naturally more sunspots on the sun’s surface.

When these charged particles hit gases in our atmosphere they create strong aurora activity – oxygen atoms will glow green, the most common colour in an aurora display, while nitrogen atoms give the purple, blue and pink colours.