By Nik Szymanek 10th May 2024

On the night of Friday 10th May skywatchers were able to view one of nature’s most spectacular events, a dramatic display of the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis). This had been announced on news and weather reports so even casual observers were able to watch and photograph what turned out to be one of the best displays ever seen in this country.

The aurora when seen from England is normally confined to faint glows, occasionally visible very low down in the north so a very flat horizon is required to see anything. This display, however, was on a completely different scale with multi-coloured bands and streamers seen high overhead as well as a green curtain effect visible lower down towards the north.

Auroras are more likely to be seen when the Sun is at its most active and this occurs as part of an eleven-year cycle. It’s at this time that the Sun will show many sunspots and that was the case prior to the display when a massive sunspot appeared. These can be very active regions that create an effect called a Coronal Mass Ejection, where high-energy particles are blasted into space. If they are aligned with the Earth, they’ll travel 93-million miles from the Sun and when they reach the Earth will spiral in along magnetic field lines, entering the atmosphere and glowing in a way quite similar to that of a neon lamp.

Thankfully, sky conditions were very good for the display. Even the ever-increasing light pollution from Colchester didn’t spoil the show and for around two hours the sky was lit up with dramatic coloured arcs and surprisingly linear bands. Many people were able to take good pictures of the event using mobile phone cameras but best results came from digital cameras placed on sturdy tripods which enabled longer exposures to be taken. 

If you missed the display, the Sun is still very active so it’s possible we’ll get the opportunity to see more auroral displays in the coming months. 

All photographs taken by Nik Szymanek