As of: October 5th, 2024 2:08 p.m
A strong solar storm could possibly ensure that the northern lights can be seen again over Lower Saxony this evening. Whether the spectacular view is available will be decided at short notice.
According to Sami Solanki from the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Göttingen, a so-called coronal mass ejection, a huge cloud of solar plasma, is on its way to Earth. This is expected on Saturday evening. “But we don’t know whether there was a direct hit or a glancing blow,” said Solanki. However, in the case of mass ejections, it is only possible to predict very imprecisely in advance how strong they will be or how quickly they will spread. This can only be predicted about 30 minutes before the plasma particles arrive on Earth – when satellites around a million kilometers away can measure them.
Videos
1 Min
In many places in Germany, the northern lights lit up the sky on Saturday night. The cause was a solar storm. (05/11/2024) 1 min
Weather outlook: Skies should partly clear
The weather cooperates, at least to some extent. In the evening hours, the clouds are expected to disappear and the sky to clear up in some regions of Lower Saxony. “If we have clear skies, especially towards the north, I will drive up to a hill and look,” Solanki announced. But it is also quite possible that there will be no northern lights to see.
Solar storm weaker than in May
The US weather agency NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) had forecast category G3 storms. This should possibly be seen in Germany in the early hours of Saturday morning and Saturday evening. Northern lights have been seen repeatedly in Lower Saxony this year – for example in May. At that time, an extreme solar storm that, according to NOAA, had reached the highest category G5, lit up the sky.
More information
A strong solar storm and a clear view of the sky: all conditions are right for Northern Lights sightings on Sunday night. (October 5, 2024) more
Many people in Lower Saxony photographed the natural phenomenon. A selection of the most beautiful images. (08/12/2024) Image gallery
The colorful light show could be seen in many places. There are also impressive pictures of the natural phenomenon from Lower Saxony. (05/11/2024) more
