We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE SKIES OVER Ireland will provide a visual feast for star-gazers in the coming days, with astronomical activity producing both aurora borealis and the year’s most significant meteor showers.
Increased solar activity last Friday led to aurora borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, becoming visible from Ireland – a rare event. David Moore of Astronomy Ireland told TheJournal.ie that sky-watchers may have the further chances to see aurora over the coming days, but warned that cloud cover may obscure the sights.
Aurorae are caused when solar radiation interacts with the planet’s magnetic field, causing glowing lights in the upper atmosphere that can be seen from Earth.
Moore explained that the aurorae, which are usually only visible in high latitude areas of the Northern Hemisphere, were pushed to areas like Ireland due to very strong solar activity. The sun is currently nearing the peak of 11-year cycle, which means increased sunspots and more sights in the sky.
Perseid meteor shower
The Perseid meteor shower occurs once a year and allows star gazers to witness spectacular streaks of light across the sky. The Perseids have been observed from Earth for the past 2,000 years.
The showers can be observed from August 5th to 19th, with the peak occurring on 12th (Friday), and Astronomy Ireland is encouraging the public to count the meteors they observe and pass on the information to them.
No special equipment is needed to see the Perseids.
Astronomy Ireland is holding a Sun Watch workshop at its headquarters in Artane at 1pm this Saturday, to explain the approaching solar maximum.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Great.Cant wait to see this tonight.
Also, another fascinating thing to do is to actually listen to the aurorae when it’s happening. You need a VLF receiver (you can actually do it via free software on your own PC plus the proper antenna) which you can make yourself or buy but you can also listen to live streams from this website…
http://abelian.org/vlf/ and also http://www.ab9il.net/vlf/vlf1.html
There’s a stream based out of the UK that’s active at the moment, which is probably the best to use over the coming nights (makes a change from watching the riots in London I guess!).
The other thing you can do is listen to the dawn chorus, the sounds of the earth as the sun breaks over the horizon at dawn.
Geeky I know but I find it fascinating.
Not at all geeky, really fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
Might be best viewable from the Northern half of the country, not sure if it will stretch as far down as even Dublin but it’s possible over the coming nights (assuming skies are clear).
You can check up to date news from http://spaceweather.com/ and also via this map which updates all the time (refresh the pic) http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/pmap/gif/pmapN.gif
i thought the ‘big freezes’ were being caused by the start of a long period of LOW solar activity. so now we have ‘very strong’ solar activity? confusing.
I thought that the ten year solar activity cycle was at it’s lowest point also. Maybe it’s annual activity is increased????
I thought there had been less sun spots…
have your say