Moment blazing fireball & Northern Lights lit up Irish sky in solar flare

IRISH stargazers were in for a treat last night when the Northern Lights shined over skies across Ireland – as well as a blazing fireball.

Clear skies brought optimal conditions as the Aurora Borealis shined over Irish towns across Sligo, Meath, Donegal, Louth, and Carlow last night above the Plough constellation.

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Yesterday, it was flagged that Ireland was in with a chance of seeing the spectacular light display, and thankfully, it came to fruition.

The colours often seen in the Northern Lights include green, pink, yellow and blue, creating a mesmerising spectacle that is rarely visible from Ireland.

Along with the lights making another appearance this year, many across the country also witnessed a “bright fireball” in the southwest.

Kenneth McDonagh from The Donegal Weather Channel told The Irish Sun: “The fireball last night to the southwest was observed by many around 23:10hrs and was most likely space junk re-entering earth burning up in the atmosphere.

“Last night’s Aurora display was a result of a dark plasma explosion on the sun and not a solar flare which left the sun on the 8th of September.

“Another area of interest to watch over the coming week is a new sunspot which has come into view in the past 48 hours.

“We are currently in a very active time and at solar maximum so the sun is at its most active time in recent years.”

STUNNING SIGHT

Carlow Weather‘s Alan O’Reilly shared a picture of the stunning phenomenon to his Instagram last night.

He captioned the image: “Picked up a little for a few minutes and down to 3.4c now at my station.”

Last night’s event was driven by a coronal mass ejection (CME) detected from a sunspot on Tuesday.

Experts predicted that conditions were favourable for a G2 geomagnetic storm which could intensify to G3 or G4 – bringing the aurora display seen last night.

A CME is a huge burst of solar wind and magnetic fields rising above the solar corona and being released into space.

When this burst of plasma reaches Earth, it can trigger geomagnetic storms that create the Northern Lights.

The Northern Lights, also called the Aurora Borealis, occur when charged particles from the sun hit Earth’s atmosphere.

These particles are directed toward the poles by Earth’s magnetic field, where they collide with atmospheric gases like oxygen and nitrogen.

‘BIG AURORA NEWS’

The energy from these collisions creates beautiful light displays in the sky, often seen as shimmering waves of green, purple, and sometimes red.

While auroras are most commonly seen in polar regions, strong geomagnetic storms can push them further south, making them visible in Ireland.

Areas along the west and north coasts, such as Donegal or Mayo, typically offer the best chances of spotting the aurora due to their lower levels of light pollution and clearer skies.

The Donegal Weather Channel was quick to share “big aurora news” as word of the solar flare emerged.

They said: “A full halo CME wasn’t observed, which means a direct hit on the Earth will be likely.

“This is likely to arrive later Thursday with G2 storm conditions likely and could spark stronger G3 or G4 storm conditions with a massive aurora.”

In August, the stunning Northern Lights were seen in Irish skies – with stargazers saying they looked “absolutely beautiful.“

PRIOR SIGHTINGS

Adam Rory Porter is a fine art landscape photographer and print maker from Inishowen in Donegal.

And he shared with his followers a fantastic clip of the Northern Lights passing through the skies in August.

In the clip, Adam shows a timeframe of this stunning sight in the early hours of the morning from a military museum called Fort Dunree that’s located outside Buncrana.

Back in may, a rare showing of the aurora lit up the Irish skies as far south as Cork and Kerry.

The Aurora Borealis was visible across many parts of the country on Friday night, including Carrickfergus, Co Antrim, left, and Tralee Bay, Co Kerry, above.

HOW TO SPOT THE LIGHTS

Stargazers should seek out rural locations, coastal spots, or elevated viewpoints across the country to get a darker sky.

Clear skies are essential for viewing the Aurora Borealis.

Staying informed is key, so it’s a good idea to follow aurora forecasts from the Irish Astronomical Association or Met Éireann.

It’s also important to be patient, as sightings aren’t guaranteed even when conditions are favourable and maybe consider planning multiple viewing attempts.

If you want to capture the aurora on camera, bring a device with manual settings so you can adjust for the low-light conditions.