On Saturday night, the northern lights lit up the sky in many places in Western Norway. – One of our children was out and discovered the northern lights. He called us and said we had to go out if we wanted to see it, says Iman de Zwarte. He got the green light with him in Fusa, in old Hordaland. When they came out they saw a faint hint of green patches in the sky. – Of course we went out, it’s an interesting and special phenomenon. The science behind the Northern Lights Aurora Borealis, or Aurora Borealis as it is called in Latin, occurs when particles from the sun hit the Earth’s atmosphere Active northern lights phenomena are dependent on the activity of the sun. The sun throws out huge gas clouds (solar winds) of varying strength, and sometimes there are storms. Strong activity on the sun can give rise to very strong northern lights three to four days later. The earth is surrounded by a magnetic field – the magnetosphere – which protects against many of the high-energy particles. But some particles thus come through the protective shield, and give rise to the northern lights. Source: forskning.no The northern lights were also evident in Jølster in Sunnfjord. Photo: Karoline Vie Less activity last night Meteorologist on duty Rannveig Eikell says that the northern lights were visible last night from the Hardangerfjord and northwards. It can still look like yesterday was the night, if you were to catch the northern lights festival in the west. Whether the northern lights are visible depends on the so-called KP index, which ranges from 0–9. A value of 0 means low activity, while 9 means that an intense geomagnetic solar storm is underway. In practice, this means how far south one can see the Northern Lights. Northern lights in Vaksdal in Vestland Photo: Torstein Torkildsen Bruvik Tonight it will be around 3-4, which means that you can see the northern lights from Møre and Romsdal and further north. But it depends on clear weather, says Eikell. Solar activity determines the Northern Lights occur when particles from the sun hit the earth’s atmosphere. Sometimes there can be storms or gas explosions on the sun which cause extra particles to be sent in our direction. Sometimes it even causes the northern lights to spread far south in Europe. On Saturday evening, you could see the northern lights south to the Hardangerfjord. Here are the northern lights in Vaksdal. Photo: Torstein Torkildsen Bruvik news reported earlier this year that we are heading into a period where you can expect more northern lights. The sun is entering a more active time, after having “relaxed” for a few years. – The sun has been more active than the models would suggest. In the past year, the sun has contributed far more than what has been estimated, Pål Brekke, Head of Department at the Norwegian Space Center has previously stated. The peak of activity is expected to be reached in 2025.
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