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Northern Lights again bring dancing displays to the Netherlands – DutchNews.nl
The Northern Lights were again visible in the north and east of the Netherlands on Thursday night, and in some places the colours could be seen clearly with the naked eye.
The Northern Lights, or the aurora borealis, are created when energised particles from the sun slam into the Earth’s upper atmosphere at extremely high speeds. The Earth’s magnetic field redirects them to the North and South Pole, creating waves of coloured light.
Eelco Doornbos, a specialist in space weather with the KNMI meteorological office, said there is a lot of solar activity at the moment. “The stronger the storm, the higher the activity and the clearer the light,” he told broadcaster NOS.
Last May the Northern Lights were visible over most of the country following the strongest solar storm in 20 years.
People who missed the spectacle on Thursday will have another opportunity shortly, Doornbos said. The solar activity moves in a cycle of 11 years which is punctuated by peaks of solar explosions and times of lesser activity.
“Since 2022, there has been a lot of activity and we have had two to three geomagnetic storms powerful enough to allow the lights to be visible in our skies. So it will happen again,” Doornbos said.
Nog een aantal noorderlicht foto’s van vanavond bij de Overijsselse Vecht toen het sterker werd, vlak voor de bewolking kwam.#noorderlicht #vecht #aurora pic.twitter.com/UpqTYJ0byF
— Sjoerd van der Wal (@sjo_nl) October 10, 2024
🌌 Wat een waanzinnige lichtshow boven Nederland! Helaas was het vaak bewolkt, maar dit #noorderlicht viel voor ons mooi tussen de wolken door. Vannacht rond 01.30 uur bij Groesbeek (Gelderland) 👇
@OmroepGLD @Weerplaza pic.twitter.com/WMsVwDjUot— Wouter van Bernebeek (@StormchaserNL) October 11, 2024
#noorderlicht bij de hunebedden van Havelte. Het was nog een hele kunst om alle zaklampen buiten beeld te houden want het was druk.#poollicht #aurora@AurorateamNL @Kees_Zwaan @Albert_Wester @waddensky_nl @ pic.twitter.com/O96Au4MK0w
— Vincent van Leijen (@vinsvanleijen) October 10, 2024
Geen woorden 🥰. Gelukkig wel beelden. Koehoel, 10 oktober 2024. #poollicht #noorderlicht #aurora #auroraborealis #friesland @visitfriesland @VisitWadden @Nachtvanhetwad pic.twitter.com/PiHo4gjQfs
— Koen van den Driesche (Waddensky) (@waddensky_nl) October 11, 2024
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