UK Viewers Treated to Spectacular Northern Lights Displays
Posted on 12 April 2001
The 7,900 subscribers to the free AuroraWatch UK e-mail aurora-alert service received advanced warning yesterday telling them to look out for displays of the multi-coloured dancing northern lights. Viewers all across the UK, from the north of Scotland to as far south as Devon, Cornwall and the Scilly Isles were lucky enough to see the fantastic displays.
"Most people in the UK have never seen the northern lights. Thanks to AuroraWatch UK service, many people in the UK have been able to see the aurora for the first time" said Dr Mann, Head of the Magnetospheric Physics Group at the University of York which operates the AuroraWatch UK service. "Now is the best time for more than ten years to see one of the most beautiful of all natural phenomena. With an extended period of very active space weather there may be more auroral displays to come".
The northern lights are a common phenomena in the far north, such as northern Scandinavia and northern Canada, however they are a much rarer sight in the UK. AuroraWatch UK, launched last September by the Magnetospheric Physics Group at the University of York, is devoted to telling people exactly when to look.
Last night's spectacular auroral displays are the consequence of intervals of disturbed space weather and the generation of disturbances called geomagnetic storms. Massive explosions on the surface of the sun, known as coronal mass ejections release billions of tons of material, travelling at around 2 million miles per hour, into space. When this material smashes into the Earths upper atmosphere it triggers the ‘geomagnetic storms' which cause the spectacular displays of the northern lights.
The geomagnetic storm began at around 1700 BST on 11 April. As it developed through the evening, spectacular auroral displays were visible. Clear skies and the moon below the horizon created near perfect conditions for auroral viewing. If the intense geomagnetic storm activity continues, further auroral displays might also be visible tonight, particularly in the north of the UK.