Friday evening saw another celestial spectacle that is quite rare for our latitudes: the second strongest solar storm since 2005 caused the Northern Lights to appear in the sky. The view of the natural spectacle was partly obscured by the weather; the best views were in Vorarlberg and Tyrol.
A rare spectacle appeared in the Austrian sky on Friday evening: the fascinating Northern Lights bathed the sky in a magical play of colors of red, green and violet. This rare natural phenomenon, normally only observed at high northern latitudes, mesmerized spectators throughout Austria.
The readers of “Krone” did not miss the spectacle either:
The Northern Lights lasted all night
The solar storm started on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. “With the help of so-called coronagraph images from space telescopes, it quickly became clear that the storm was moving towards Earth at high speed,” explains Eva Weiler from Geosphere Austria’s Space Weather Office. Geosphere’s solar storm model estimated the storm’s arrival time on Earth within five hours.
The solar storm finally reached Earth at 4:49 PM (Central European Summer Time) on Thursday, causing the Northern Lights to appear in Austria and at high to mid latitudes worldwide.
The view of the extremely strong Northern Lights, “which lasted all night”, was obstructed by rain and heavy clouds and there were only “a few gaps in the clouds for a short time”, the chairman of the Salzkammergut Astronomical Working Group reported. at the Gahberg Observatory, Erwin Filimon.
Due to the strong solar activity, it is very likely that “more northern lights will be visible in Austria” in the coming days or weeks.
Second strongest storm since 2005
As things stand now, the storm is about 20 percent weaker than the one in May this year. This makes this geomagnetic storm the second strongest in this solar cycle, after the May event and since 2005,” explains Weiler expert Eva Weiler. Moreover, according to Geosphere Austria, the latest solar storm is the fourth strongest since the Halloween event in 2003.
The recent geomagnetic storm resulted in impressive Northern Lights visible over much of Europe and North America. The fascinating celestial spectacle stretched from Scandinavia through Germany to Italy and France. The characteristic colored light phenomena could even be observed in southern regions such as the Mediterranean Sea.
The American weather agency NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) reported on Friday evening that the current storms had reached category G4. The northern lights that were visible in large parts of Germany in May were caused by a G5 storm, the highest category.
No effects on the electricity grid are expected at this time. But disruptions can occur when using global navigation systems, as the experts from Geosphere Austria say.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
