Those who missed last night's stunning northern lights display over Ireland should have another chance of catching it tonight.
The northern lights or aurora borealis were observed as far south as Dublin on Sunday night in what was one of the most spectacular displays in Irish skies for years.
Created when waves of electrically charged particles from the sun are captured by Earth's magnetic field and glow from the friction created by these gasses slamming into atoms high in our atmosphere, the northern lights have long fascinated humanity.
A high amount of geomagnetic activity must be present in order for the northern lights to be visible as far south as Ireland, and that is exactly what happened last night. A stunning fluorescent green embellished with streaks of blue and pink stretched across the northern skyline as stargazers took in a sight usually only visible inside the arctic circle.
Thanks for sharing all your images of Northern lights. For those asking mine were 7 or 8 second exposure images using DJI Mavic 2 Pro drone or 30 second iPhone exposure. Taken at home here near Tullow in Carlow. pic.twitter.com/Ub9oQI4f8h
— Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) February 26, 2023
Well that was an unexpected treat. #NorthernLights #Ireland pic.twitter.com/trl0lAbqll
— Sara O'Neill Artist ? (@SaraONeillArt) February 26, 2023
Magic Connemara nights under the stars. The milky way arching over this fishing hut and if you look in the center of the frame you can see faint purple glow of the northern lights. Special ?? @UKNikon Z6 and 24mm 1.8. @ConnemaraIe @galwaytourism #ireland pic.twitter.com/tYoJvk1ugT
— Sean O' Riordan (@seanorphoto) February 26, 2023
The spectacular sight of the Northern Lights over Dublin city tonight. Taken onboard a @Ryanair flight between @LPL_Airport and @DublinAirport.
? @_KimCon pic.twitter.com/87iHbfWy0v
— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) February 26, 2023
So if you missed last night's spectacle, it appears stargazers will be in for another treat tonight with peak activity expected to occur between 9 and 11 pm.
If you're living further south it's advised to find a safe location on higher ground with an unbroken northerly view away from any light pollution.
Better still, there's little chance of rain tonight and skies are expected to stay largely clear – best of luck!
