A marvellous display of the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, was seen across widespread areas of Scotland and Northern England last night, with reports coming in from Northumberland, The Pennines and Yorkshire.

The Northern lights are a natural light display caused by a stream of highly-charged particles from solar storms hitting our atmosphere and reacting with oxygen and nitrogen atoms. This makes the sky glow typically green and occasionally faintly red. Displays are usually confined to higher latitudes in countries such as Iceland, Norway and Canada but when there is a particularly explosive solar flare, as has been the case this time, then areas further south can enjoy the wonderful sight too.

Sunspot 1401 was responsible for producing a M3-class explosive flare on 19 January, resulting in a full-halo coronal mass ejection (CME) that slammed into Earth last night. An even bigger spot, 1402, produced a more powerful M9-class solar flare (so powerful it was on the threshold of being classed an X-flare, the most powerful kind) at around 4am yesterday morning and is predicted to hit the Earth today (24 January). Unfortunately the weather forecast is not favourable but observers should be on alert and hope for clear skies, for the aurora may be visible as far south as London.

If you capture the aurora on camera we would love to receive your images at gallery2012(at)astronomynow(dot)com. Please include your full name and postal address, as well as details of how you took the image (equipment, exposure times etc).

The Planets
From tiny Mercury to distant Neptune and Pluto, The Planets profiles each of the Solar System's members in depth, featuring the latest imagery from space missions. The tallest mountains, the deepest canyons, the strongest winds, raging atmospheric storms, terrain studded with craters and vast worlds of ice are just some of the sights you'll see on this 100-page tour of the planets.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Hubble Reborn
Hubble Reborn takes the reader on a journey through the Universe with spectacular full-colour pictures of galaxies, nebulae, planets and stars as seen through Hubble's eyes, along the way telling the dramatic story of the space telescope, including interviews with key scientists and astronauts.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

3D Universe
Witness the most awesome sights of the Universe as they were meant to be seen in this 100-page extravaganza of planets, galaxies and star-scapes, all in 3D!
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

This special publication features the photography of British astro-imager Nik Szymanek and covers a range of photographic methods from basic to advanced. Beautiful pictures of the night sky can be obtained with a simple camera and tripod before tackling more difficult projects, such as guided astrophotography through the telescope and CCD imaging.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Explore the Universe with these new versions of the award-winning Starry Night Software. Available now from the Astronomy Now Store.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

Astronomy Now is pleased to announce the publication of Exploring Mars. The very best images of Mars taken by orbiting spacecraft and NASA's Spirit and Opportunity rovers fill up the 98 glossy pages of this special edition!
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE

This new poster features some of the best pictures from NASA's amazing Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
 U.K. STORE
 E.U. STORE
 U.S. & WORLDWIDE STORE