Breathtaking red aurora borealis visible in Hungary
The aurora borealis photographed near Hódmezővásárhely on November 5, 2023. Photo credit: Attila Bodrogi - Dél Alföld meteorológia
Update: Due to a very rare, 5G-level geomagnetic storm, the red aurora borealis was visible again all over Hungary on Friday, May 10, 2024. According to astronomers, northern lights observations will be possible on Saturday, May 11, and even Sunday, May 12, if the sky is clear.
Breathtaking aurora borealis — or northern lights — in red, magenta, purple, some yellow, and a little bit of green, was visible in several parts of Hungary, including the areas near Szeged, on Sunday, November 5, 2023.
"The aurora borealis can often be seen in Hungary as well if there is a strong coronal ejection and favorable visibility conditions. Sunday was particularly lucky, because the phenomenon of the aurora borealis was strong in the part of the pole towards Hungary, and after the cold front that passed through on Sunday, an extremely clean and cold air mass prevailed in Central Europe, which ensured excellent visibility" explained Dr. Habil. Tamás Gál DSc, senior associate professor of the Institute of Geosciences, Department of Climatology and Landscape of SZTE Faculty of Sciences and Informatics, on the university's website.
On November 3, a coronal ejection occurred on the surface of the Sun, which is part of the natural functioning of the star. At that time, a large amount of plasma cloud consisting of charged particles leaves the surface, and days later it reaches the Earth as a geomagnetic storm. Due to the Earth's magnetic field, charged particles can only approach the surface along the north and south magnetic poles, where they collide with particles in the denser atmosphere at lower altitudes and cause light phenomena.
The most common color is green, which is a consequence of the reaction with oxygen molecules, but in the present case, the dominant color was red, which indicates a reaction with nitrogen molecules at low altitude (100 km) and with oxygen atoms at high altitude (300-400 km). In addition to the spectacle, a geomagnetic storm can damage power grids, but this time, according to the US NOAA's assessment, the storm was a G2 class, which is the second weakest on a scale from 1 to 4, added Dr. Habil. Tamás Gál in his article.
The sighting on Sunday night was reported from all over Hungary, including several places in the Southern Great Plain. It could be best observed further away from cities and other light pollution sources.
Main source: University of Szeged
For a webcam video compilation of the sighting, click here
