The sky once again brightened up last night from Sunday April 23 to Monday April 24 in Douai and other French regions. Aurora Borealis lit up the sky, as reported by several photographers on Twitter as well as our colleagues from The voice of the North. The icing on the cake, everyone was able to enjoy it around 11 p.m., as the phenomenon was visible to the naked eye.
? Northern lights above Douai in the North of France, very easily visible to the naked eye despite heavy light pollution! A 30-minute timelapse at dusk. Incredible show!! #KP8 #auroreboreale #northernlights @NightLights_AM @meteofrance pic.twitter.com/DjOgEmVDz4
— Louis Leroux | Astrophotographe ? (@KriekCherry) April 23, 2023
In the commune of the Nord department (59), the inhabitants of Douai expressed their surprise when the light pollution of the city and the few clouds in the sky could have largely blocked the road with pink, purple and green lights. Two months ago, at the end of February, you had to be equipped with a good device to really enjoy it.
The big difference, too, with the coronal mass ejection two months ago (the strongest of the year in the northern hemisphere) is that the French were able to enjoy greenish aurora borealis this time . The most famous color of an aurora borealis was almost invisible at the end of February, for a question of altitude of the phenomenon of collision between the energetically charged particles and the atoms of the atmosphere.
Gorgeous #auroreboreale tonight around 10:30 p.m.
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This is clearly the photo of my dreams !!! In France, the aurora borealis like this is almost unheard of with a KP 8 / 8.5!corentin jeuneau pic.twitter.com/81h9McX7t0
— Corentin Jeauneau (@Corentin_Jneau) April 23, 2023
Northern lights were visible this evening from Alsace, here on the west of Bas-Rhin!! ?️10⁰C
? #Birkenwald #Summerau 67#Alsace #BasRhin #Weather report #Weather67 #Northern Lights pic.twitter.com/o3W2O4xK4z— Lutz Sabine ?️⚡ (@SabineL67) April 23, 2023
Douai and the North department were the main concerned this night but the aurora borealis were also visible from Brittany and even Auvergne. A user on Twitter was delighted to have been able to witness the phenomenon in the south of Meurthe-et-Moselle, “between two showers”, he explained. In more southern regions like his, the colors of the sky resembled that of last February.
Otherwise, you had to take a little height and flee the cities to enjoy it from further away. This was the case in Les Deux Alpes, according to another Internet user who captured the phenomenon by connecting to the resort’s webcams. “Scan north now!” he advised his subscribers. “The geomagnetic storm was much more intense than this winter, with glows associated with the northern lights more pronounced”confirmed a meteorological account of the north of Ile-de-France.
(Live) Spectacular aurora borealis is underway in France. Here are two photos from the webcams of @creation from Les Deux Alpes.
If you are outside the light pollution areas, get out and scan the north now!#Aurora borealis pic.twitter.com/O0ArPHWAKG— Dr. Serge Zaka (Dr. Zarge) (@SergeZaka) April 23, 2023
“The episode was clearly more intense than the last time”, confirmed another Internet user on Twitter, based in the small town of Authevernes in the department of Eure in Normandy. The rest of Europe was well spoiled too, especially in kyiv in Ukraine. Currently, the northern United States and Canada are also benefiting.
