Sky watchers were disappointed last night as cloud cover obscured one of the most spectacular displays of the "Northern Lights" phenomenon. However, the good news is that the Aurora Borealis will be visible for much of the week.
"It will be particularly interesting tonight", said Mr David Moore of Astronomy Ireland. He said there was only one reported sighting last night, from Co Cork.
The Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, is caused by the interaction between solar wind, the Earth's magnetic field and the upper atmosphere. Astronomy Ireland said a huge explosion on the sun last night sent material hurtling toward Earth and caused an aurora in Irish skies.
The phenomenon will be visible from "dawn until dusk" and from Northern Ireland to Cork in breaks in the cloud.
The Northern Lights is more commonly seen in high-altitude areas of the north and south Pole and sometimes in northern counties in Ireland.
"Only 1 per cent of the displays are so strong that they can be seen from as far south as Ireland," Mr Moore added..
He said the aurora comes and goes in strength, sometimes being a dim glow in the north, but in just a few minutes it can grow to fill the entire sky with bright colours and rays and curtains of light that move from second to second.
"It's an eerie and spectacular sight", Mr Moore said.
