Northern lights observed in France overnight from Sunday to Monday, “an exceptional event”

Watch out peepers! Did you think the aurora borealis was reserved only for the inhabitants of the polar regions? You are mistaken, since this luminous phenomenon which manifests itself by very colorful veils at night was observed, on the night of Sunday February 26 to Monday February 27, in France, more exactly in the North of the country but also in Poitou and in Burgundy, according to agrometeorologist Serge Zaka, on Twitter. He is a member of the association Climate Info, which brings together volunteer meteorology enthusiasts.

“The activity of the Sun has been very sustained for several days, and a coronal mass ejection (CME) has reached the Earth in recent hours, since auroras borealis are photographed in long exposure”, explains the association.

Photographer Sylvain Wallart shared pictures taken in northern France of the northern lights on Facebook. “They were not visible to the naked eye, but in the photo, you can directly see the red streaks. It lasted a good ten minutes before the auroras faded”he says. According to Serge Zakathis type of phenomenon, which occurs every “10 or 20 years” is indeed visible “by the long exposure camera”. To see the aurora borealis with the naked eye, you have to be patient since it happens once a century on average.

The phenomenon is called“exceptional event” by Eric Lagadec, astrophysicist at the Observatory of the Côte d’Azur, specialist in stardust. The latter, which ensures that the phenomenon “could happen again tonight”, shared lengthy explanations on Twitter regarding the Northern Lights. He finally gave some tips to see them!