There was a small chance that the northern lights would also be visible above the Netherlands, in the night from Wednesday to Thursday. ,,You will always see that when it is cloudy with us. If it had been clear in the Netherlands that night, we could certainly have seen the northern lights. Or at least in the northern half of the Netherlands,” says meteorologist Wouter van Bernebeek Weather Plaza know.
Last week, three or four solar flares hit Earth. “Then burn static particles in the atmosphere, creating the northern lights. Like the images from Canada last Thursday, that was the most spectacular aurora you can imagine,” says the weatherman, who shared the images via Twitter.
Don’t worry, because there are still plenty of opportunities to see the aerial spectacle in our country. The number of solar flares will increase until 2025. We are treated to the Northern Lights much more often than usual.”
We owe this to the activity of the sun. In recent years we have seen relatively few solar storms. Such a solar cycle lasts eleven years and will reach its peak in 2025. The last time many solar flares occurred was in 2014 and 2015. ,,The northern lights can certainly be seen more in the Netherlands. We have the best chance between February and April and between September and November. Because it is light for too long in the summer and the magnetic field is different in the winter.”
Usually the northern lights in the Netherlands can mainly be seen in photos. “Because we have quite a lot of light pollution in the Netherlands,” explains Van Bernebeek. “Although it is possible on the north coast and with a major eruption even in the middle of the country.”
The last time that happened was in March 2015. “But it is very realistic that it will happen again soon.”