(Photo: Mike Jakob)
The spectacular natural phenomenon of the Aurora Borealis – better known as the Northern Lights – is typically observed in high northern latitudes. In exceptional cases, however, it can also occur further south, as it did these days above the PolarJournal editorial office in Zurich.
A sky spectacle over Central Europe
While northern lights are usually only visible at high northern latitudes, on the night of November 11 to 12, 2025, they penetrated significantly further south. The sky over large parts of Europe was illuminated in this unusual light.
Colorful auroras – green, red, and pink – can occasionally be visible much further south when the sun is particularly active. During strong solar storms, large amounts of charged particles reach the Earth and disturb the magnetic field so intensely that the auroral oval expands southward. As a result, lights normally only visible in high northern latitudes can appear over Central Europe as well. Such events are rare, but when they occur, they bathe the sky in an impressive and unusual spectacle of colors.
Interesting Link: www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/aurora-30-minute-forecast
How northern lights form
Northern lights occur when the sun ejects charged particles into space which then collide with the Earth’s magnetic field. The field directs the particles toward the poles, where they collide with atoms of oxygen and nitrogen at high altitudes, releasing energy. This energy becomes visible as colored light – green, red, or pink, depending on which gases are excited and at what altitude this happens.
The recent event could be observed in Europe as far south as Hungary, and on the American continent, auroras were reported as far south as Florida.
Rosamaria Kubny, Polarjournal