Northern lights again visible over the Alps

A camera from the Federal Office of Meteorology, MeteoSwiss, captured the northern lights on Sunday evening. X / Meteo Schweiz

The northern lights, aurora borealis, were spotted again in Switzerland on Sunday evening. The colourful natural spectacle was also expected on Monday night – at least where the sky was clear, according to the weather service MeteoNews.

Auroras are rare in the Alpine region, MeteoNews wrote in a statement on Sunday evening. They are usually seen in the polar regions.

The colourful phenomenon was already visible in Switzerland on the night of September 24 to 25. The reason for this was the strong solar activity, the Federal Office of Meteorology said at the time.

+ Northern lights spotted in Switzerland

Auroras are caused by an interaction between charged particles from space and the Earth’s atmosphere. They are triggered by the so-called solar wind. This consists of charged particles, mainly electrons and protons, which are ejected from the sun.

The colour of the northern lights depends on the type of gas particles with which the charged particles interact in the atmosphere and the altitude at which these interactions occur. Green northern lights are often caused by interaction with oxygen in higher atmospheric layers, while red or violet colours can result from interaction with nitrogen.

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