Friday, 12 September 2014 - 10:57
Northern Lights visible this weekend
The spectacular light show that is the Northern Lights may be visible in Dutch skies in the coming days after a huge solar flare on Tuesday. Normally, these lights are only visible closer to the North Pole, the NOS reports.
Since yesterday, people have been staying up at night hoping to catch a glimpse of the spectacle that normally requires a visit to more North-lying countries to see. The Aurora Borealis was last seen in The Netherlands in 2005.
The possible light show is the result of a big solar flare on The Sun, which occurred on Tuesday. This was an X-class solar flare, the biggest kind, which will send geomagnetic storms toward the earth, according to CNET.com. These geomagnetic particles react with the earth's atmosphere, which results in one of the world's most beautiful natural phenomena, the Northern Lights.
For a chance to see the lights, experts advise visiting dark places preferably as far away from disruptive city lights as possible. Due to several factors, such as clouding and a bright moon, seeing the lights this far below the North Pole is not guaranteed.