Northern Lights brighten night sky over parts of Ireland

by · TheJournal.ie

LAST UPDATE | 6 hrs ago

The 'Voyager' sculpture at Laytown beach, Co Meath last night James GrandfieldJames Grandfield

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS are brightening up the sky over parts of Ireland tonight. 

People have taken to social media to share photos of the dancing pink and green display across various corners of the country. 

Stargazers in Dublin, Meath, Wicklow, Cork, Mayo and Derry were able to capture the display over the last couple of hours. 

The lights are also visible over parts of England, Scotland, Wales and mainland Europe.

Aurora borealis occurs as a result of charged particles from the sun launched along Earth’s magnetic field colliding with gases in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

The colour of the lights depends on the type of gas particles colliding.

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The Northern Lights over Swords in Dublin.
The Northern Lights above Wicklow. Irene BreenIrene Breen

The Northern Lights are typically not visible this far south.

However, the spectacular phenomenon has been visible over Ireland several times already this year, with September being the last time stargazers were able to catch a glimpse of them.

The Northern Lights visible from the Hill of Tara. Lee MoffatLee Moffat

Because the cameras on out phones are more sentitive than human eyes, they can pick up the Northern Lights at times when they are now visible to the naked eye.

 

The Northern Lights over Wexford Aiden KentAiden Kent

 

The Northern Lights over Donegal Robyn PottsRobyn Potts

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