Northern lights are rare in the Alpine region, they are mainly seen in polar regions. Tonight and on Monday night, however, you also have the chance to see them here - for the second time this fall.
Northern Lights again in the Alpine countries
It depends on the solar cycle (see blog Pulse of the sun), but it is generally rather rare to see the Northern Lights (lat. Aurora borealis) in the Alpine region, for example in Switzerland, Liechtenstein, southern Germany or Austria. However, this evening and next night will be the second time in a month that you will have the opportunity to marvel at this colorful natural spectacle between the clouds, at least in places where the clouds have temporarily lifted. The last time we saw the Northern Lights was recently, on the night of September 24-25, 2023.
As the name suggests, the Northern Lights generally occur most frequently north or south of the respective polar circles, i.e. in the polar regions. In the northern hemisphere they are called aurora borealis, in the southern hemisphere aurora australis. They are formed when electrically charged particles from the solar wind collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms in the upper layers of the earth's atmosphere and ionize them. This creates the different colors. The green aurora originates from an altitude of around 100 to 200 kilometers, while the red aurora originates from an altitude of over 200 kilometers.
Below are some impressive pictures from Switzerland, Austria and Germany taken this evening.
Fig. 1: Northern Lights over the Rhine Valley as seen from Pizol (picture taken at 18:20); Source: www.foto-webcam.eu
Fig. 2: Northern Lights over the Rhine Valley as seen from Pizol (picture taken at 20:30); Source: foto-webcam.eu
Fig. 3: Northern lights over Lienz (Austria); Source: foto-webcam.eu
Fig. 4: Northern Lights over Hopfgarten in Defereggen Valley (Austria); Source: foto-webcam.eu
Fig. 5: Northern lights over Heiligenblut (Austria); Source: foto-webcam.eu
Fig. 6: Northern lights over Bad Kleinkirchheim (Austria); Source: foto-webcam.eu
Fig. 7: Northern lights over Kleinfleisskees (Austria); Source: foto-webcam.eu/webcam
Fig. 8: Northern lights over Kampenwand (Germany); Source: foto-webcam.eu
Haftungsausschluss
Der Inhalt dieses Artikels wurde mindestens teilweise computerunterstützt aus einer anderen Sprache übersetzt. Deshalb sind grammatikalische Fehler oder Ungenauigkeiten möglich. Bitte beachten Sie, dass die ursprüngliche Sprachversion des Artikels als massgeblich angesehen werden sollte.