There are few natural phenomena as beautiful as the northern lights, a spectacle in the form of luminescence that occurs when charged particles from the Sun collide with the Earth's magnetic field and end up creating a unique color.
According to NASA, these lights receive that name when they are viewed from the North Pole. It can be seen in Finland, Norway, Iceland, northern Canada, Alaska or Greenland. In all these countries, they have become a growing tourist attraction.
In our country, it is not common to see the northern lights, although several have been recorded in recent months, especially in Extremadura. Last week one could be seen in the sky over Cáceres, captured by astrophotographer Javier Caldera. It was also seen timidly in Catalonia, according to the Pujalt Observatory.
A few months before, in April, the sky of Casar (Cáceres) was dyed in pink and lilac tones. The beauty of the image taken by Lorenzo Cordero led NASA to classify it as 'astronomical image of the day'.
It is not common to see the northern lights in Spain. Everything will depend on the weather conditions that occur at that time. According to specialist Mario Picazo, the solar storm G3 had a lot to do with what occurred last week and which dyed many European skies with color. At other times, they are aided by a coronal mass ejection (or CME).
When the weather conditions are met, the communities where it is possible to see the northern lights are Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, Navarra, Catalonia and Extremadura.
According to meteorologist José Miguel Viñas, "those who live on the shores of the Cantabrian Sea" are more likely to observe them. According to his calculations, on average, you see almost one a year."
To further ensure the sighting of the Northern Lights, fans can compare the forecast and information on several maps published by the Space Meteorology Agency (Aemet).
