Last night the northern lights also shone over southern Germany. And what are the observation chances for Baden-Württemberg for the coming night?
October 11, 2024 at 5:38 p.m. Munich
An article by
Daniel Steiger
The northern lights can look so beautiful over Baden-Württemberg. This photo was taken in May of this year over the Dreisamtal near Oberried near Freiburg in the Black Forest.
Valentin Gensch/dpa
The Northern Lights at night over Germany are currently exciting again. Last night there were reports of northern lights sightings from Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria. How does it look today?
Northern lights over BW: What are the chances today?
On the night of Friday, October 11th, colorful northern lights shone over large parts of Germany. The natural phenomenon lit up the sky over Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia and Bavaria. Northern lights are a result of the current bubbling on the sun: its activity fluctuates in an approximately eleven-year cycle. The current cycle is currently at its maximum – it lasts a few years, during which there are always relatively many solar flares. The colorful sky lights arise when coronal mass ejections (CME), i.e. huge clouds of solar plasma, hit the Earth’s magnetic field. However, the chances of northern lights sightings in Baden-Württemberg decrease for Saturday night and the following nights.
Northern lights over Baden-Württemberg: When could you see them?
The basic rule for sighting the northern lights over Germany is: the stronger the solar storms, the better the visibility in southern latitudes, explained a spokesman for the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ). A measure of the strength of a solar storm is Kp-Index. A Kp index between 0 and 3 indicates low solar activity, with a Kp value of 9 there would be northern lights even over the middle of Germany – for example Dresden or Kassel. In very rare cases, these can also be seen from the Alpine region. The prerequisite for this is clear skies and a clear view to the north. At the beginning of November 2023, northern lights were spotted over central Germany. At that time, the Kp index reached a fairly high value of 7. The value of 6 was exceeded more than 20 times last year. Values beyond 8 were reached three times, according to the GFZ spokesman. The 9 did not yet exist on the Kp index in 2023. For the coming nights says NOAA maximum KP values of 5.33 in advance. Specifically, the KP value for the night of Saturday, October 12th is currently at a maximum of 5.33 and the following night on Sunday at a maximum of 4.33.
Northern lights over BW – This is what the weather will be like at night
According to the German Weather Service, Saturday night in Baden-Württemberg will be mostly cloudy. On Sunday night, however, heavy cloud cover is to be expected.
