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Science/nature/environment

Northern lights

(58 Posts)
tanith Fri 11-Oct-24 06:45:55

Something I never expected to see in London but there it was from a bedroom window. It was very faint with the naked eye but much brighter with my phone camera.

tanith Fri 11-Oct-24 06:53:01

Sorry forgot the photo 😚

karmalady Fri 11-Oct-24 07:13:11

I do not like these at all, a massive solar explosion, ejecting a monster amount of radiation into earth. Strong enough to penetrate the earths magnetic shield. Dangerous, with consequences

Sago Fri 11-Oct-24 07:57:00

karmalady

I do not like these at all, a massive solar explosion, ejecting a monster amount of radiation into earth. Strong enough to penetrate the earths magnetic shield. Dangerous, with consequences

Please explain.

Sago Fri 11-Oct-24 07:57:37

We enjoyed the spectacle in East Yorkshire.

RosiesMaw2 Fri 11-Oct-24 08:25:21

karmalady

I do not like these at all, a massive solar explosion, ejecting a monster amount of radiation into earth. Strong enough to penetrate the earths magnetic shield. Dangerous, with consequences

Really?

I’m just sick of everybody seeing them except me! envyenvy

Usedtobeblonde Fri 11-Oct-24 08:26:19

We could see it here in Stockport, unfortunately I missed it but some great photos on Facebook taken by neighbours.

escaped Fri 11-Oct-24 08:28:52

Just a miniscule glimpse for me last night across the Devon fields.
More exciting was the huge splash of a beaver in the adjacent river.

MissAdventure Fri 11-Oct-24 08:32:55

Ooh I'm really desperate to see them, and I was awake all night, too!!!

Greyduster Fri 11-Oct-24 08:38:42

My grandson just sent these to me, taken last night from their garden at midnight in Sheffield.

petra Fri 11-Oct-24 08:42:24

In Southend ours were red. At first we thought it was a fire.
Then we turned around and it was behind the bungalow as well. So excited I forgot to take pics.

Georgesgran Fri 11-Oct-24 08:43:04

Me too Maw.
I think there’s just amazing.

Georgesgran Fri 11-Oct-24 08:43:50

There’s???

They’re (of course)

Pittcity Fri 11-Oct-24 08:45:14

This is in Colchester with the streetlights on.

MissAdventure Fri 11-Oct-24 08:45:29

I'm really cross!!

They're the one thing that's on my bucket list that I've not done before.

Most of the others, I've done, and wouldnt mind having another go at.

rubysong Fri 11-Oct-24 08:48:03

About half past midnight, here in Cornwall, the sky was pink. It didn't show up on phone camera. We don't have much of a view to the North. Nearby there is a large hill with lots of carparks but all sorts of strange things go on up there at night so I didn't venture out.

Redhead56 Fri 11-Oct-24 08:49:23

My son sent a snap of the display visible from his house last week. I saw them in our night sky last month so there is no need to travel to see them. Something I wanted to do years ago now they are ever present in our sky view.

MissAdventure Fri 11-Oct-24 08:54:21

It must be more magical for them to just appear, rather than going to try and see them somewhere.

Beechnut Fri 11-Oct-24 08:56:48

RosiesMaw2

karmalady

I do not like these at all, a massive solar explosion, ejecting a monster amount of radiation into earth. Strong enough to penetrate the earths magnetic shield. Dangerous, with consequences

Really?

I’m just sick of everybody seeing them except me! envyenvy

I found this

The lights are caused by the interaction between the Earth's magnetic field and charged particles from the sun's atmosphere that enter the earth's atmosphere. A solar flare (energetic particles from the sun) floats through space on the solar wind, eventually penetrating the Earth's magnetic field.

tanith Fri 11-Oct-24 08:57:12

I’m glad lots of you saw them, I just took a peek out of my spare room window on the way to bed and there it was. Some lovely shots thanks for posting them.

M0nica Fri 11-Oct-24 09:10:07

We are so surrounded by trees we would need to get into the car and drive several miles to see them.

NotSpaghetti Fri 11-Oct-24 09:35:19

karmalady,
I thought it wasn't a big deal as they are just a manifestation, not the actual radiation?

NotSpaghetti Fri 11-Oct-24 09:42:13

Just found this:

Does radiation issue from the Northern Lights, even at trace levels, enough to reach the surface of the Earth? If so, what kind of radiation is it?

Northern Lights appear when high energy particles from the sun collide with atoms and molecules in the atmosphere, causing them to emit light. This light (like all other light) is a form of electromagnetic radiation, which reaches the Earth along with radio waves, which are a different kind of electromagnetic radiation. X-ray radiation has also been detected from these collisions, but they are absorbed by lower parts of the Earth‘s atmosphere and do not reach the surface.

So yes, when we see Northern Lights it is because radiation is being emitted, otherwise we would not be able to see them (light is radiation). And no, the Northern Lights themselves are no source of radiation but a manifestation of what is happening all the time (the sun emits energy). So the Northern Lights you see emit no radiation, but are themselves electromagnetic radiation emitted by collision between highly energetic solar particles and our atmosphere.
Kjartan Guðnason and Benóný Þór Björnsson, specialists at the Icelandic Radiation Safety Authority.

keepingquiet Fri 11-Oct-24 09:42:19

my view faces south so I never see them! Can't be bothered to drive somewhere...they've become a bit of a cliche to be fair.

NotSpaghetti Fri 11-Oct-24 09:46:18

What do you mean keepingquiet when you say they've "become a bit of a cliché?
I thought they were, by nature, original.