Rare spectacle

Solar storm brings auroras to Austria

Last night, a solar storm caused auroras in the sky.

(Bild: Leserreporter)

On Friday night, there was another rather rare celestial spectacle for our latitudes: the second strongest solar storm since 2005 caused auroras in the sky. Visibility of the natural spectacle was partially impaired by the weather, with the best views in Vorarlberg and Tyrol. 

A rare spectacle appeared in the Austrian sky on Friday night: fascinating auroras bathed the sky in a magical play of red, green and violet colors. This rare natural phenomenon, which can normally only be observed at high northern latitudes, enchanted onlookers throughout Austria.

Krone" readers did not miss out on the spectacle either:

Northern Lights in Payerbach and Reichenau an der Rax.

(Bild: Leserreporter)

(Bild: Leserreporter)

Northern lights lasted all night
The solar storm started in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. "Using so-called coronagraph images from space telescopes, it quickly became clear that the storm was moving towards the Earth at high speed," explains Eva Weiler from the Space Weather Office of Geosphere Austria. Geosphere's solar storm model estimated the storm's arrival time at Earth to within five hours.

The solar storm finally reached Earth at 4.49 p.m. (Central European Summer Time) on Thursday, causing auroras in Austria and at high to medium latitudes worldwide.

The colorful celestial lights are created when huge clouds of solar plasma collide with the Earth's magnetic field.

(Bild: ASTRONOMISCHER ARBEITSKREIS SALZ)

(Bild: ASTRONOMISCHER ARBEITSKREIS SALZ)

The view of the extremely strong auroras, "which lasted the whole night", was impaired by rain and heavy cloud cover and there were only "a few brief gaps in the clouds", reported Erwin Filimon, chairman of the Salzkammergut Astronomical Working Group at Gahberg Observatory.

Due to the strong solar activity, however, it is very likely "that further auroras will be visible in Austria in the coming days or weeks". 

Second strongest storm since 2005
As things stand, the storm is around 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 the strongest since 2005," explains Weiler expert Eva Weiler. The latest solar storm is also the fourth strongest since the Halloween event in 2003, according to Geosphere Austria.

How do auroras form?

• Auroras are a result of the current bubbling on the sun.
• Their activity fluctuates in an approximately eleven-year cycle.
• The current cycle has just reached its maximum - such a cycle lasts a few years, during which there are always relatively many solar flares.
• The colorful celestial lights are created when coronal mass ejections (CME), i.e. huge clouds of solar plasma, hit the Earth's magnetic field.

The recent geomagnetic storm led to impressive auroras that were visible in large parts of Europe and North America. The fascinating celestial spectacle stretched from Scandinavia to Germany, Italy and France. The characteristic colored light phenomena could even be observed in southern regions such as the Mediterranean.

The US weather agency NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) reported on Friday night that the current storms had reached category G4. The auroras visible in large parts of Germany in May were triggered by a category G5 storm, the highest category.

No effects on the power grid are currently expected. However, there may be disruptions to the use of global navigation systems, according to the experts at Geosphere Austria.