Photos and video: Northern lights beautifully visible above much of Netherlands
The Northern Lights were beautifully visible over much of the Netherlands last night. Social media was flooded with photos from all over the country, including from the large cities, where light pollution typically obscures the natural phenomenon.
The Northern Lights, also called the aurora borealis, are caused by solar wind, in which electrically charged particles from the sun are propelled towards the Earth. The particles collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the upper layers of Earth’s atmosphere and create a colored curtain of light in the sky, usually green, blue, or purple.
Last night, there was a solar storm, which sent far more particles than usual in the Earth’s direction, making the lights so beautifully visible, according to RTL Nieuws.
The Northern Lights have appeared in Dutch skies quite regularly in recent years, but visibility as clear as last night’s over such a large part of the country is rare.
