After a solar storm, northern lights could also be seen over Germany on Sunday night. But anyone who wants to observe them has to be a little lucky, as Carolin Liefke from the Association of Star Friends in Heppenheim, Hesse, explained to the German Press Agency on Saturday. The chances of seeing the apparitions in the sky over Germany are moderate. “It probably won’t be spectacular,” she said.
The greatest likelihood is in Schleswig-Holstein and beyond Scandinavia, said Liefke. In the parts of Germany further south, the chances of seeing the northern lights would be around 30 to 40 percent. “But there are always surprises,” she added. The best time to keep your eyes open to the north is around midnight. What will be important is how many solar particles reach Earth after the latest eruption.
The weather on Sunday night also has to cooperate. According to the German Weather Service (DWD), the best chances of larger cloud gaps are probably southwest of a line from North Rhine-Westphalia to Bavaria. In the north and east, however, it will probably be cloudy. Showers are to be expected on the edge of the Alps, and there could be relief in the second half of the night, said DWD meteorologist Nico Bauer.
Ideally, you should observe the northern lights far away from artificial light sources: “You shouldn’t stand under the nearest street lamp, but rather as far away from the city as possible,” Liefke advised in case the northern lights can be seen. You also need a clear view of the northern horizon.
The cause of the phenomenon is solar flares, which result in a so-called coronal mass ejection towards Earth, which consists of electrons, protons and atomic nuclei. Because components of the plasma are electrically charged, they interact with the earth’s magnetic field and essentially compress it. Magnetic short circuits in the tail of the earth’s magnetic field generate particle flows into the polar regions, which stimulate the air particles to glow, which becomes visible as green or red glowing auroras.
