Northern Lights Appear in Chiswick Night Sky

Display of colour could be seen in local parks

The Northern Lights seen from Homefields Recreation Ground in Chiswick
The Northern Lights seen from Homefields Recreation Ground in Chiswick. Picture: Richard Russell

May 12, 2024

There was a very rare chance this Friday (10 May) night to see the Northern Lights in Chiswick.

Many people went to local parks across the area to benefit from reduced light pollution to see the lights, also known as the aurora borealis, which were visible across the UK where the skies were clear.

The pictures in this article were taken by Richard Russell in Homefields Park but other photographers took to parks across Chiswick to take this rare opportunity to see the bright pink and fuchsia coloured sky. Clear sightings were also reported from Dukes Meadows, the Thames Path and Southfield Recreation ground.

Hopes of another chance to see the lights on Saturday night appear to have been dashed with nobody, at this stage, contacting us to report sightings.

The phenomenon was caused by one of the strongest geomagnetic storms to hit the Earth in recent years prompting a rare solar storm warning from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This storm received the highest classification of G5 but fears of a possible impact on telecommunications and power infrastructure were not realised.


The Northern Lights in Homefields Recreation Ground. Picture: Richard Russell

This was the most intense solar storm since 2003 and the Sun is approaching a ‘solar maximum’ in an 11-year cycle where there are more Sun spots on its surface. These spots are made by Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) which cause huge volumes of charged particles to shoot out from the sun. These eventually hit the earth’s atmosphere and they create a range of colours between purple and green due to the high Oxygen and Nitrogen content. This has led to the Northern Lights being visible in the south of England occasionally this year, but this is the first time during this cycle that they have been seen in Chiswick.

More of Richard Russell's photos of the Northern Lights can be seen on his Instagram page.

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