Northern lights illuminate the sky in rare appearance across several countries

The most powerful solar storm in more than two decades struck Earth on Friday, triggering spectacular celestial light shows from Tasmania to Britain, reported AFP.

The Northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, are caused by the interaction between charged particles from the Sun and the Earth's magnetic field. (Image credit: emmaclarkeillu1/X)

The lights are typically visible in regions near the Earth's polar regions, which includes countries such as Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland. However, the solar storm caused them to go further south than usual. (Image credit: AFP)

Social media lit up with people posting pictures of auroras from northern Europe and Australasia. This pic shows the Northern lights as seen in Italy. (Image credit:shanew21/X)

"Absolutely biblical skies in Tasmania at 4am this morning. I'm leaving today and knew I could not pass up this opportunity," photographer Sean O' Riordan posted on social media platform X alongside a photo. (Image credit: @seanorphoto/X)