Victor van Wulfen (46) from Heeswijk-Dinther was just about to go to bed when his northern lights alarm beeped on Sunday evening. Armed with two cameras, he went to his attic window. Due to their high sensitivity to light, these cameras already saw what Victor only later saw with his naked eye. “It was as if a curtain went up, behind which first a green and later a red and purple light show became visible.”
This fulfilled the amateur astronomer’s wish. “I was so hoping that one day I would be able to see the Northern Lights from my attic window.”
The Northern Lights are a light spectacle that is mainly visible in northern countries such as Finland and Norway, but especially in the northwest of Canada because that is where the magnetic North Pole is located. The light is created when particles electrically charged by the sun hit the Earth’s atmosphere. This collision creates a light effect: the northern lights.
Victor has been fascinated by stars, planets and weather phenomena all his life. He has his own website where you can follow his adventures: Clear Skies. He has seen the Northern Lights up close several times, but for the first time in the Netherlands 20 years ago. “I lived a little further north at the time, so you have a slightly better chance of seeing this spectacle.”
“Many solar activities ensure that the Northern Lights can even be seen in the Netherlands.”
To ensure you don’t miss an opportunity to see the Northern Lights again, Victor has warning apps on his phone. He also checks meteorological websites every day. “They work really well. I have often heard weathermen say that the Northern Lights will be visible next night and also put a time on it, but that is nonsense. You cannot predict this phenomenon exactly. You certainly cannot predict a time. I really trust those warning apps. They only sound the alarm when all signals are green and at most an hour in advance.”
Victor can explain why the Northern Lights can be seen more often in the Netherlands this year. “Northern Light is caused by a kind of volcanic eruptions on the sun. The more eruptions, the more charged particles reach the earth. These particles are attracted to the magnetic poles on the earth. For us, the magnetic north pole is the closest. We are now at the peak of solar activity. This repeats itself every 11 years and as a result the Northern Lights are now visible in the Netherlands again.
“The speed and quantity of the charged particles explain the colors of the Northern Lights.”
Victor can also explain that the Northern Lights can have different colors. From the attic room, Victor first captured green and then red and purple. “These color differences are due to the speed at which the charged solar particle hits the Earth’s atmosphere, which is filled with nitrogen and oxygen. If that happens at high speed, we see green. These charged particles not only penetrate hard but also massively and therefore deeper into our atmosphere, you also see red and purple.”
Victor is completely happy with his photos and video. He just hopes he doesn’t have to wait another 20 years. “Clouds sometimes want to ruin things in the Netherlands.”