Northern lights visible from Ireland this week

THE NORTHERN LIGHTS are visible over Ireland this week.

The lights, also known as the Aurora Borealis, are expected to be visible from across the country, but people in the north will have the best chance of seeing them.

Tonight is expected to be the best time to see the lights, but they may also be visible later in the week.

The northern lights are the result of collisions between gaseous particles in Earth’s atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun’s atmosphere.

Color variations are due to the types of gas particles colliding. The lights can appear in a range of colors such as white, green, blue, and pink.

David Moore of Astronomy Ireland explained that the brightest colors that cameras sometimes pick up are often not visible to the naked eye. The lights seen in Ireland this week are more likely to appear white.

Moore said TheJournal.ie the northern lights have been “popping and cracking for the last week.”

“We have already received photographs from Mayo, along the north coast near Coleraine. In fact, we would have seen a great display on Sunday night if it weren’t for the bad weather, “said Moore.

Moore explained that the appearance of the lights will be “somewhat spoiled” for people in rural areas due to the bright light of the full moon.

“We don’t know how strong it will be,” Moore said. “We have to calculate the rotation of the sun, the dynamics… so there is always the possibility that it is not present. That said, if it goes according to plan … what we will see are the lights out over the Atlantic Ocean. “

Moore said current estimates suggest that the appearance of the northern lights tonight will be “more than just a glow on the northern horizon.”