The powerful solar wind that hit the Earth this weekend created an incredibly beautiful spectacle – a bright aurora. Moreover, the wind force was so strong that the northern lights reached more regions where it was very rarely seen, for example, the UK and the USA.
The EasyJet flight from Iceland to the UK even made a 360-degree turn over the North Sea to allow passengers on both sides of the plane to take a detailed look at this impressive sight.
“Big thanks to the @easyJet pilot of EZY1806 from Reykjavik to Manchester who did a 360 fly by mid flight to make sure all passengers could see the incredible Northern Lights,” one passenger wrote on Twitter.
Big thanks to the @easyJet pilot of EZY1806 from Reykjavik to Manchester who did a 360 fly by mid flight to make sure all passengers could see the incredible Northern Lights ???? pic.twitter.com/A4CHi9Hqgo
— Adam Groves (@APTGroves) February 27, 2023
“Our team will always make every effort for our customers, and we are glad that we could share with them this special view of the Northern Lights,” the airline commented on the maneuver.
The Northern Lights are usually better seen in high-latitude regions closer to the Arctic, for example in Scandinavia. Residents of Scotland and northern England can see the aurora borealis, but even there it is very rare.
WOW. I never thought I would get to see the Northern Lights this far south in the UK, here in Dorset! What an incredible display at Knowlton Church tonight, absolutely unforgettable. #aurorauk #northernlights #aurora #auroraborealis #northernlightsuk #dorset pic.twitter.com/9mPfp5ITxt
— Robin Goodlad Photo (@Robin_Goodlad) February 28, 2023
Last week, the UK Meteorological Service said that strong solar activity would give observers a chance to see the Northern lights. Aurora was visible in the north of Scotland. But eyewitnesses said that they saw the aurora even in the south of the island close to the horizon.
What causes the Northern lights?
The aurora is caused by particles of the Sun that collide with atoms and molecules in the upper layers of the Earth’s atmosphere.The undulating patterns of light are caused by the lines of force of the Earth’s magnetic field, while different colors are formed by different gases: green is characteristic of oxygen, and purple, blue or pink is nitrogen. The lowest part of the aurora is usually located at a distance of about 120 km from the Earth’s surface, but the upper part can be many hundreds of kilometers above the Earth.
Earlier we reported on how astronomers discovered auroras on the Galilean moons of Jupiter.
According to Sky News
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