A HIGHLY unexpected sight greeted dedicated sky gazers last night as the Aurora Borealis, better known as the Northern Lights, were seen from Surrey.
In Reigate, a very faint red glow could be detected in the skies to the north last night, and the spectacle is clearly visible in a photo taken by Simon Collins, who runs the Reigate Grammar School weather station.
Having witnessed the sight numerous times on trips to the Arctic, he never thought it would be seen in Reigate.
"They very rarely come down this far, you usually have to go a long way north," he said.
"They are fantastic things to see. I can't say the Reigate one was a tremendous spectacle but it was very exciting seeing it reach this far south.
"It was pretty remarkable to see even the faintest glow. The London lights would normally do a pretty good job of demolishing any chance of seeing that sort of event."
The sight is caused by electrically charged particles from the sun entering the Earth's atmosphere.
Did you see last night's unusual glow? Email us on editor@surreymirror.co.uk or tweet photos to us, @surreymirror
