On Thursday evening, multiple regions across the nation were treated to a display of the Northern Lights, a magnificent spectacle of pink and green hues illuminating the sky. The perfect combination of favourable weather and geomagnetic conditions resulted in the aurora borealis being visible to onlookers. The UK’s Met Office had previously stated that there was a high probability of spotting the Northern Lights on Thursday evening into the wee hours of Friday, particularly in the UK’s northern territories. This was attributed to a phenomenon known as a “coronal mass ejection”, in which the sun expels large energy bursts.
Many individuals took to social media to share pictures capturing their encounters with the Northern Lights. The spectacle, also known as aurora borealis, occurs as a result of the interaction between atmospheric gas particles and charged particles propelled from the sun’s atmosphere. The colour variations in the Northern Lights are influenced by the category of gas particles involved in these collisions.
Previously, Met Éireann suggested that the finest places to observe the Northern Lights would be locations with minimal light interference, such as certain areas along the west and north coast providing the best opportunity to behold such a spectacle.