Northern Lights could be observed over Belgium on Friday night. Many people took to social media to share their photos of a red, blue or green glow in the sky above Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
The light phenomenon was not only visible in Belgium on Friday night, but could also be seen in several other European countries. People are posting images from Germany, France, the UK and Switzerland, among others.
"What a show it was over the last eight hours! Aurora on almost all locations in the Benelux," said weather website Noodweer Benelux on social media. "An extreme KP index of 8 to 9 (last time since 2004) and 'visual' to 'photographic' Northern Lights for many."
The KP index indicates the global auroral activity on a scale from 0 to 9, with 1 being calm and 5 or more indicating a geomagnetic storm.
In early November last year, the Northern Lights could also be seen in several places in Belgium. There is a chance that they will be visible tonight (Saturday night) again.
"Those who missed the insane aurora can take another chance on the night of Saturday to Sunday. Parameters and indices look favourable for another aggressive upsurge of charged particles interfering with our atmosphere. The best spots are completely past and dark paths without light pollution."
The lights are visible because the earth is experiencing its first extreme geomagnetic storm since 2003, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on Friday.
'Extreme' geomagnetic storm
NOAA classified the geomagnetic storm at the fifth and highest level of its G scale: it is an "extreme" geomagnetic storm that can disrupt high radio frequencies, GPS signals, power grids, spacecraft and navigation systems, among other things.
"The last extreme (G5) event dates back to the geomagnetic storms in October 2003," said the NOAA, adding that those involved power outages in Sweden and damaged transformers in South Africa.
The agency expects the geomagnetic storm that reached Earth on Friday to continue throughout the weekend. There are still "several additional plasma clouds" on their way from the sun to Earth.
Credit: Belga
