Rare Aurora Should Be Visible Tonight in Northern Bohemia

A rare aurora was visible in northern Bohemia late on Sunday evening and should be even more pronounced on the night from Monday to Tuesday, according to astronomer Petr Horálek.

The rare sight in the night sky was caused by a geomagnetic storm from the Sun’s activity. The aurora could be seen with a naked eye both in Czechia and Slovakia.

“Particles from this eruption are still flying towards us and will hit the Earth in the next hours to tens of hours,” meteorologist Martin Adamovsky explained to CNN Prima NEWS.

According to the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (ČHMÚ), the flare could therefore be even more pronounced on Tuesday night, but it depends on other factors.

“Anything can happen, the glow can be weak or it can come at five o’clock in the morning, then it would be visible in the United States, but not here. But there is a chance, and it is not small,” Adamovský added.

If the glow is strong, it should be visible over the horizon almost all over the Czech Republic, but people in more northern regions will have better conditions. “To observe it, you generally need the darkest sky possible, i.e. outside cities. The further north you are, the better,” the meteorologist said.

The Northern Lights are among the most beautiful natural phenomena in the sky. While they are quite common in polar regions, they rarely appear in lower latitudes.

The likelihood of their occurrence in the Czech Republic is linked to roughly eleven-year cycles of solar activity. “This is a rare phenomenon. In the last ten years, only lower units of cases have occurred in our country,” Adamovský explained.