Finland sees spectacular Northern Lights show on Sunday, more promised on Monday
A recent series of solar flares has caused intense Northern Light activity over Finland.
Fans of the Northern Lights phenomenon were treated to a spectacular show over southern and northern Finland on Sunday, with the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) predicting more of the same for Monday.
The activity is the result of a medium-intensity solar flare (an eruption in the Sun’s atmosphere) that occurred on Friday, causing an intense geomagnetic storm.
Residents in central areas of the country were denied a view of Sunday’s aurora borealis due to heavy cloud cover, with overcast conditions also forecast for Monday.
“We are expecting clear skies tonight, at least in Lapland and in some places in the south, so the Northern Lights may be visible again in these areas. There will be no auroras in the central parts of the country,” FMI meteorologist Heikki Sinisalo confirmed.
According to the FMI, Finland’s geomagnetic disturbances are monitored in real time at ISES RWC Finland(siirryt toiseen palveluun).
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: What are the northern lights?, CBC News
Greenland: Evidence of powerful solar storm which occurred 2,600 years ago found in Greenland ice, CBC News
Norway: NASA and Norway to develop observation station in Arctic, The Independent Barents Observer
