If luck is on our side, the whole of Ireland could get to witness it.
People of Ireland might get a rare chance to see the Aurora Borealis over the weekend according to the founder and chairman of Astronomy Ireland, David Moore.
The Northern Lights, according to Service Aurora, are “an incredible light show caused by collisions between electrically charged particles released from the sun that enter the earth’s atmosphere and collide with gases such as oxygen and nitrogen.”
They are normally seen around the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemispheres but Moore believes that this weekend they will be visible here.
Speaking to JOE, he said that this had the potential to be the sight of the decade. “There has been a huge explosion [from the sun] and chunks of matter are headed towards the earth and we are expecting to see a major display of lights either Friday or Saturday night.
“When we have been able to see the Northern Lights before, it has only been a small glow but this has the potential to be 100 times greater than that,” he added.
Moore said that it could even outshine the “major Halloween display of 2003.”
“People can follow our Facebook and Twitter pages as we will update them as soon as we have confirmation. We have to wait for a satellite, thousands of miles away, to pick up on it and once that happens, we have a ten-minute warning.”
However, he did say that a few technicalities could disrupt the Northern Lights lighting up our skies.
“First, the skies need to remain clear and if it passes a little too much to the left or right, it could miss planet earth completely.
“With the weather we have in Ireland, the chance of a big and bright display is an opportunity we get maybe once every decade.”
If the opportunity does arise, we are expected to see “colours of red or green and curtains of light” kindling the sky over the weekend and it can last several hours (from dusk to dawn) or it might even last a couple of days.
Friday and Saturday are the two nights that Moore is most confident about but he doesn’t rule out seeing something on Thursday or Sunday night either.
“There are no guarantees at all but if it is to happen I wouldn’t rule out any of the next four nights. As I said, following the Facebook and Twitter pages for updates are crucial.”
Here’s where you can find the Facebook and Twitter pages and hopefully luck will be on our side this weekend.
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