You can stand in awe under the inky-black skies of Norfolk, and watch the stars career on their endless path on a winter’s evening. You can stare dumbfounded at the beauty of a vivid amber sunset, the sun plummeting below the horizon. You can gasp as meteorites shoot down from the heavens in glorious sparks of light. But when the sky dances, alive with a thousand shades of pink and green and red and blue - that's another experience entirely and the perfect excuse to spend a night out in nature! But how does it work?
The sun releases charged particles (or plasma) into space at high speed in a solar wind which are then captured by the Earth’s magnetic field and drawn towards the poles. As these particles collide with atoms and molecules in our upper atmosphere, energy becomes visible light, causing the wondrous displays we call auroras. The variety of colours we see are due to the gases involved in the reaction and at what altitude they occur. Energised oxygen atoms at high altitudes produce red, and at lower altitudes, green, whereas energised nitrogen at low altitudes produces purple and blue.
We’re seeing a spate of aurora action here in the UK because the sun has reached the most active period in its 11-year solar cycle, peaking from October 2024 to now, resulting in increased geomagnetic activity and more charged particles reaching Earth. Expect much more striking displays to come!
But how will you know when the next solar storm will happen? Well, there are apps, Facebook groups and websites for that! AuroraWatch and the Glendale App are popular options for up-to-the-minute info on what's going on in the atmosphere. You’ll want to look out for the sections that describe imminent activity and where the aurora is visible right now.
