Northern lights hunters in Donegal are crossing their fingers for an exciting show as a powerful solar storm hits Earth tonight.
The US Space Weather Prediction Center has issued its first “severe geomagnetic storm watch” today for the first time in nearly 20 years.
The activity is expected to make the aurora borealis phenomenon visible across northern Europe in the early hours of Saturday May 11th (after midnight tonight).
Donegal, Sligo and Mayo are most likely to get the best view of the lights.
If you don’t fancy driving around in the dark, Inishowen astro photographer Adam Rory Porter is operating a live webcam view from Fort Dunree.
“With perfect clear skies also forecast over Donegal this is an opportunity not to be missed! Dark enough from around 23.30 to 03.30. Whilst there are no gurantees, it’s too good an opportunity to miss in my opinion! Watch the live 24/7 webcam at Fort Dunree tonight here: https://www.youtube.com/@adamroryporter/streams ”
The northern lights can usually be seen best from the north coast, which has the advantage of facing the clear Atlantic and being furthest away from lit-up areas. The advice is to look for a glow in the north. The amazing scenes can be visible to the naked eye as a glow on the northern horizon, and with the right camera settings, the colour can be picked up with stunning results.
Featured photo: Adam Rory Porter Photography
