THESE stunning images of the Northern Lights were taken by keen York photographer Paul Mortimer.

As The Press reported last week, Paul, who has lived in York all his life and runs a tattoo studio in Osbaldwick, spotted the light show low in the sky just outside the city.

He had just returned from Iceland where he took this series of photos.

Paul, who is a member of The Press Camera Club, said: “Iceland is ace, but its a real treat when you catch the Aurora in your home town York, there’s something special about seeing it from ‘home’ albeit less active as a dancing arc, to see it going crazy 360 all around you in Iceland is out of this world.

“I’m addicted to experiencing it, its different every time which is why i never get bored of seeing it and photographing it.

“It zones me out and calms the mind its great for your state of mind to immerse yourself into nature in such a bleak baron wilderness, it separates you from the mayhem the rest of the world is putting up with.

“Peace, tranquility, the total silence is amazing fir the soul.”

Paul said he has been fascinated with the aurora ever since he saw his first one on a trip to Norway and the Arctic circle back in 2016. Now he and wife, Hilary, regularly go out to Iceland to photograph the magical spectacle and document it on their Instagram page: thefearlessaurorahunters.

The lights, or Aurora Borealis, appears when atoms in the Earth’s high-altitude atmosphere collide with energetic charged particles from the sun.

Speaking to The Press after the latest York event, Paul said: “Strong pink colours on top of Green beaming down to Earth, caused by a Filament eruption on the Sun a couple of days ago. The Earth’s powerful magnetic field pulling the solar gases back down to Earth giving us the changing colours that are caused by different solar gases colliding with atoms in our Earth’s atmosphere which excite power by way of light.

“The Aurora Borealis is centralised around the Aurora Oval in the Arctic regions due to the magnetism being greater towards the poles of the planet. If the solar storm is strong enough the Aurora Oval can move further southwards allowing us to view it from lower mid latitudes such as York.

“With the Sun starting to creep out of Solar Minimum now these events will get more and more regular over the next 5 years. This is my fourth York Aurora in as many months which shows how regular these events are happening lately.

“After just returning from Iceland two days ago from 14 day Aurora Photography trip I was quite pleased to see the Northern Lights had followed me back home to York.”