In the north of the country, the northern lights could be seen on the night from Wednesday to Thursday. On social media, several people shared a photo showing a glimpse of the light. The northern lights are very difficult to see with the naked eye, but the colors can be captured beautifully with a camera, explains Philippe Schambergen of Buienradar.
Jannes Wiersema, “hobby weather amateur”, showed the beautiful green-purple light in a photo, but Schambergen discovered that this is a photo from 2015. Sytse Schoustra was able to capture the “green cast” in the night from Wednesday to Thursday from Terschelling and says she has also observed the northern lights with the naked eye. Jordy van den Berg managed to photograph the aurora from Ameland.
The Northern Lights are related to the activity of the sun. The sun is a boisterous swirling fireball where eruptions sometimes occur. During such an eruption, also known as a solar storm, a large amount of charged particles are thrown into the universe in one fell swoop. The aurora occurs when charged particles from the sun collide at tremendous speeds with nitrogen and oxygen particles high in our atmosphere.
The northern lights, or aurora borealis, can usually only be seen in areas close to the Arctic Circle. But it can also “settle” further to the south and can be seen in the Netherlands, according to Weerplaza. Whether it can actually be seen has to do with whether there are clearances or not. Many people hoped in advance to catch a glimpse of the northern lights, and it turned out to be bright enough last night.
The sun has an 11-year cycle, says Schambergen, in which the sun increases in activity for 5.5 years and decreases again for 5.5 years. “Solar activity is at a low point right now, so it is quite exceptional that it is happening right now,” he says. In the coming years, the activity of the sun will increase again, so there is more chance of spotting the northern lights again. “But it remains exceptional, at most a few times a year.”
–
You can follow these topics
—
