Big show in sight?
Northern lights could be observed in France, mainly in the northern half of the country, during the night from Sunday to Monday, several specialists report.
This phenomenon is due to a solar flare that occurred on Saturday.
“A major solar flare (X1.1) took place early in the morning,” Guillaume Séchet, meteorologist and founder of the Météo-Villes site, wrote on his X account on Saturday.
“Conditions could be favorable for observing the Northern Lights in France soon, particularly in the northern half for those who will benefit from clearings.”
A major solar flare (X1.1) took place early in the morning.
Conditions could be favorable for observing #NorthernLights in #France soon, particularly in the northern half for those who will benefit from clearings.
Image #SOHO.
pic.twitter.com/Vv4p0Bl62c
— Guillaume Séchet (@Meteovilles) March 23, 2024
A trend confirmed by astrophotographer Valentin Severin, with our colleagues from France 3 Regions: “the sun expelled numerous particles towards the Earth.
They could arrive next night, March 24 to 25.”
Keep your eyes peeled around 3 a.m.
This specialist and observer of the phenomenon gets his information from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) website.
This American organization evaluates disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field and estimates the probability of seeing an aurora depending on the geographic area.
“It is a complete halo eruption,” continues Valentin Severin to France 3. “And on the NOAA models, we can clearly see the impact of the coronal mass arriving between 6 p.m. and midnight.”
If space weather permits, the Northern Lights could be visible in the sky around 3 or 4 a.m., Sunday night into Monday.
Even though it is usually a fairly rare phenomenon, the Northern Lights could be observed in France and Europe only a few months ago.
On November 5, Internet users shared photos of the illuminated sky above the Alps and the Côte d'Azur in the evening, but also in Auvergne and Alsace.