Video... For the first time, scenes of the Northern Lights around the world have reached these Arab countries, and the reason!

2024-05-11 2024-05-11T09:13:00Z

Weather of Arabia - In recent hours, the X platform and social networking sites have witnessed the hashtag “Aurora” being at the forefront, especially after the appearance of charming colors in the skies of some regions of Europe and the United States. As for the Arab countries, the aurora borealis appeared in the skies of Algeria and the countries of the Mediterranean Sea as a result of the recent solar storm.

As the most powerful solar storm reached Earth in decades, stunning lights showed its impact in the sky, raising fears of possible disruption to satellites and power grids over the weekend.

How long will the aurora borealis last?

It only takes eight minutes for light to travel the 93 million miles from the Sun to Earth, but according to astrophysicist Jana Levin, the energetic particles causing this current wave of aurora are moving more slowly, making the phenomenon last until the end of the week.

Sunspot observations, a key indicator of the potential appearance of the northern lights, have also increased significantly since the end of 2022, exceeding previous expectations and expanding the viewing areas of the phenomenon in some cases.

But what is the phenomenon of the northern lights? To know the answer, click on the following link:

What is the phenomenon of the Northern Lights (Aurora)?

The aurora borealis appears for the first time in the skies of #Algeria and the Mediterranean Sea
The phenomenon of the aurora borealis due to the intense explosion that occurred in the sun
Algeria #Auroraborealis #solarstorm pic.twitter.com/30r8kpfd3U

- World_Weather (@Arab_Storms) May 11, 2024

What are sunspots?

Sunspots are dark areas on the Sun's surface characterized by low temperatures and strong magnetic fields, and they play an important role in creating space weather when these magnetic distortions launch particles into space.

This activity, known as a coronal mass ejection, occurs when particles break free and travel more than 94 million miles until they reach weak spots in Earth's magnetic field, where they collide with the planet's atmosphere and cause neon colors to fill the sky.

If increased solar activity is any indication, the current year and a half may be full of lightning phenomena, according to a previous report published on the NBC News website last year.

For their part, scientists said that if this trend continues, the coming months will bring the strongest aurora activity in both the next decade and even during the past twenty years, with the possibility of viewing them more often and from more places on Earth.

Why do the aurora borealis occur?

Solar activity is expected to increase continuously until the fall of 2024, and this is associated with a high probability of the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights, occurring at its maximum levels.

When solar activity is at its peak, the northern lights are more visible at the North and South Poles, where the Earth's magnetic field becomes weaker. It is worth noting that space weather is not the only factor in this. The autumn and spring equinoxes also play a role in increasing disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field. This is because the direction of the Earth's magnetic field directs the weakest part of it towards the Sun, which makes it easier for space molecules to reach the Earth's atmosphere easily.

The strongest aurora borealis in 20 years in Switzerland

This is the amazing view in Switzerland...on top of the Jungfraujoch

Strongest aurora in 20 years - Switzerland- #solarstorm #Aurora

pic.twitter.com/kUS9Pukksa

- World_Weather (@Arab_Storms) May 11, 2024