uniladtech homepage
  • News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Reason why you were unable to spot the Northern Lights no matter how hard you tried

Home> Science> Space

Published 10:20 13 May 2024 GMT+1

Reason why you were unable to spot the Northern Lights no matter how hard you tried

Amazing lights lit up the sky this weekend - but not everyone was lucky enough to spot them.

Prudence Wade

Prudence Wade

google discoverFollow us on Google Discover

In case you were living under a rock this weekend, you would have heard about the incredible displays of Northern Lights.

These magnificent light shows were spotted worldwide, with sightings in Germany, Switzerland, the UK, the US and Canada.

It was all because of a powerful geomagnetic solar storm, where 'coronal mass ejections' - clouds of ejected solar plasma - slammed into the Earth's magnetic field and outer atmosphere.

VCG / Contributor / Getty
VCG / Contributor / Getty

Advert

It's all part of solar activity increasing, as the Sun reaches the exciting peak of its 11-year cycle.

Over the weekend, your Instagram feed was likely full of incredible snaps of the aurora all over the world - but what if you weren't lucky enough to see it?

Some people just couldn't get a glimpse of the Northern Lights, despite their best efforts.

If that sounds like you, it could be down to a few reasons.

The more light pollution around you, the less likely you would've been to see the aurora lighting up the sky - as it just wouldn't have been dark enough.

It was also dependent on cloud cover - if your area was experiencing thundery showers, perhaps that blocked your view too.

Or maybe you made the mistake of looking with the naked eye. According to Marco Petagna, a meteorologist at the Met Office, you were much more likely to get a good view of the lights through a phone camera or other camera lens - rather than looking up at the sky yourself.

Michael Seamans / Stringer / Getty
Michael Seamans / Stringer / Getty

The storm was categorized as G5 - the strongest level of solar storm - and was caused by a sunspot cluster that's 17 times the diameter of the Earth, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The last time a storm with a G5 rating hit Earth was in October 2003, causing power outages in Sweden.

This time round, there doesn't seem to have been that much disruption - but SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service said on its website over the weekend that service had been degraded and its team was investigating.

The company's CEO, Elon Musk, wrote on X that its satellites were “under a lot of pressure, but holding up so far".

Every 11 years, the Sun’s poles reverse, causing bursts of solar activity resulting in Northern Lights. According to scientists, the next solar maximum is likely to occur at the end of this year.

Featured Image Credit: Ian Forsyth / Stringer / Peter Summers / Stringer / Getty
Space
SpaceX
Science

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

3 hours ago
a day ago
2 days ago
  • Fiordaliso / Getty
    3 hours ago

    Health expert warns about fat-producing 'obesogens' hiding in everyday items and destroying your metabolism

    All the crunches and 5Ks in the world won't help you here

    Science
  • NASA
    3 hours ago

    Bizarre 'three-sided pyramid’ similar to Egypt’s seen on Mars in resurfaced NASA images

    The Red Planet's history continues to give conspiracy theorists plenty to talk about

    Science
  • @‌NWSPittsburgh/X
    a day ago

    'Meteor' spotted over Ohio as state is shaken by sonic boom

    Videos have shown the true cause flying through the sky

    Science
  • FPG / Getty
    2 days ago

    Expert warns of deadly mistake most people would make in first minutes of a nuclear attack

    One obvious action would actually leave you in a lot of trouble

    Science
  • How to see the Northern Lights as they're set to be visible from 18 US states
  • Bizarre reason astronauts don't eat one of the world's most popular foods on the ISS
  • Crucial reason why you shouldn't touch Soviet spacecraft debris following desperate warning from space expert
  • How to activate 'epic' feature Elon Musk just enabled across iPhone and Android