One of the great wonders of the world, Aurora Borealis–more commonly known as the Northern Lights–was once visible in only the most remote regions of the world. Now, Aurora will now be visible over parts of Great Britain into Wednesday night. This is due to a rare solar storm enhancing the size of the phenomena and spreading its brilliant colors across the sky as far as some European countries.
How far does Aurora Borealis normally reach?
This type of solar storm is infrequent, and occurrences reaching as far Great Britain happen only a few times in a year. The last time that a solar storm of this magnitude was recorded was March of this year when the NOAA recorded a solar storm that got up a G4 (severe) category solar storm, and lasted 18 hours.
What’s in store for those lucky enough to live in an area in view of the Northern Lights?
Corona rays illuminate the skies in brilliant flashes of color, when the sun is most active the northern lights flash in different pulsating patterns. For years the cause of the phenomenon was unknown until scientists discovered that it was cause by Plasma, Solar Wind, and plasma react with the earth’s atmosphere to create a combination of red, green, yellow, pink, blue, ultraviolet, and infared light.
Often solar flares of a great magnitude can cause interference with some types of telecommunications devices, while power outages are less common. Solar flares that measured G4 (severe) in March were intense, but according to the NOAA did not disrupt the operations of any power sources. A map provided on the NOAA advisory website displays the highest concentrations of the best areas to view the incredible lights in the sky.
For Great Britain this will prove to be a rare opportunity to see one of the true great wonders of the world, and for many this will be the only opportunity they have to see the great Northern Lights as they dance over the sky in Great Britain on Wednesday night — maybe even on a great date.
