The Northern Lights have made a rare appearance across the UK, delighting sky watchers up and down the country.

Excited onlookers shared pictures of the lights, also known as aurora borealis, visible right across the country, including the south coast of England.

They could be seen after one of the strongest geomagnetic storms for years hit Earth, with the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issuing a rare solar storm warning.

Such storms increase people's chances of seeing the lights.

Storms of this scale could potentially impact infrastructure, including satellites and the power grid, the NOAA warned.

clear skies like those on Friday evening made sightings possible from almost everywhere in the UK. #stormlights #UK

People in Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern parts of England usually have a higher likelihood.

In the US, the NOAA said the lights could be seen as far south as Alabama and northern California.

Many of Europe's northern countries were treated to the spectacle as well.

Cameras captured bright pink skies over Austria, and a purple wash over Germany, with watchers in Slovakia, Switzerland, Denmark and Poland among others who enjoyed the light show.

The lights were captured in China, too, with fuchsia skies photographed over the country's north. #northernlights

What are the Northern Lights?
The Northern Lights - or aurora borealis - 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 hitting gases in the Earth's atmosphere.

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".