Most of Europe is glowing pink under the aurora

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Scope of the aurora event

  • Very strong auroral display linked to a major solar storm (described as the largest in ~20 years; Kp up to 8, G5 geomagnetic storm).
  • Visible far beyond usual latitudes:
    • Europe: from Scandinavia down through UK, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Canary Islands.
    • North America: reports from Canada and much of the US, down to Texas, Florida, Alabama, San Antonio.
    • Southern hemisphere: Uruguay, southern Argentina, near Antarctica, and southern Australia (incl. Melbourne).
  • Light pollution and clouds made it hard or impossible to see from some cities, even close to others reporting spectacular views.

Colors and “why pink?”

  • Pink, red, green, and purple frequently mentioned; some webcams and phones showed intense magenta skies.
  • Linked by commenters to different emissions from atmospheric gases at varying altitudes; higher-altitude oxygen producing reds/pinks.
  • Some ask why this event produced such strong reds compared to more common green displays.

Camera vs naked eye

  • Repeated theme: long exposures and phone “night mode” pull out much stronger colors and structure than human vision.
  • Experiences range widely:
    • Some saw vivid, multicolored, fast-moving “curtains” clearly with naked eye.
    • Others saw only faint grey/white “clouds” or subtle tints, only impressive in photos.
  • Explanations given: low-light color insensitivity of human eyes, need for 20–30 minutes of dark adaptation, and impact of looking at bright screens or car headlights.

Forecasting and tools

  • People share and critique tools: NOAA aurora dashboard, spaceweatherlive.com, spaceweather.com, earth.nullschool.net visualizations, national services, and alert apps.
  • Noted that detailed prediction is hard: CME arrival can be estimated, but geoeffectiveness and exact visibility are only clear shortly beforehand or in near-real-time.

Impacts and risks

  • Mention of historical 1989 Quebec outage and Carrington Event for comparison; current storm much weaker than Carrington but still notable.
  • Some satellite operators reportedly powered down components; ham radio users and HF aviation links saw disruptions.
  • Grid-level risks discussed, but consensus in thread is that household-level actions (e.g., flipping breakers) are unnecessary.

Reactions and reflections

  • Many describe the event as “once in a lifetime” and emotionally powerful, sometimes surpassing recent eclipses.
  • Others express frustration at missing it (sleep, clouds, light pollution) and ask about chances of repeats during the current solar maximum.