THE New Year has kicked off with a treat as the Northern Lights have been spotted in the Worcester sky.
Stunning pictures, taken by Anil Patel, show Aurora Borealis glistening in the sky over the Sabrina Bridge and along the River Severn.
The snap captures purple light peering out from behind the clouds.
AuroraWatch UK has issued an Amber Alert for sightings of the Northern Lights across the country today (New Year's Day.)
The alert means aurora is likely to be visible by eye from Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland and possibly visible from elsewhere in the UK.
The sun works on a cycle of about 11 years called the solar cycle - with peak sunspot activity on the surface of the Sun referred to as solar maximum.
Sunspots give the potential for Earth-directed releases of large bursts of energy, called coronal mass ejections, which can lead to aurora visibility.
Aurora displays occur when charged particles collide with gases in the Earth's atmosphere around the magnetic poles.
As they collide, light is emitted at various wavelengths, creating colourful displays in the sky.