The Northern Lights lit up the night sky again with rare sightings across the country.

Stargazers across the country have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, several times already in 2024.

People across the region were given another opportunity to catch what is described as "one of the most spectacular displays in the night sky" as the lights were spotted in skies in County Durham and North Yorkshire last night (August 11).

Some of our Camera Club members managed to capture some glorious images of the phenomenon.

(Image: Jonathan Baillie)

(Image: Emma Richardson)

(Image: Emma Richardson)

(Image: Jonathan Baillie)

We've also included a picture of the sky in Darlington this morning because of how glorious it looks!

(Image: Andrew Warren)

What are the Northern Lights?

The Northern Lights are 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.

Nitrogen and oxygen are the two most common gases in the atmosphere, with nitrogen emitting purple, blue and pink colours and oxygen emitting green.