November 6th 2023.
Seeing the aurora borealis is always a magical experience, and this one was extra special. Over Bamburgh Lighthouse in Northumberland, a rare phenomenon known as Steve was lighting up the night sky.
Steve stands for 'Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement', and was first discovered in 2016. What sets Steve apart from an ordinary aurora borealis is the fact that it is caused by a ribbon of hot plasma breaking through into the Earth's ionosphere. This produces a stunning arc of colors, including purple, red, and white.
The aurora borealis is created when particles and plasma from 'space weather' collide with the atmosphere at a million miles an hour. This energizes particles in the magnetosphere, sending them crashing up and down the planet's magnetic field lines towards the poles. When they hit the oxygen and nitrogen in the upper atmosphere, they release visible light of varying colors - from green to purple and pink.
The aurora borealis is usually most visible in Scotland, the north of England, north Wales, and Northern Ireland. But when a coronal mass ejection is particularly large, they can be seen further south. They are most active around the equinoxes in March and September.
The green parts of the aurora borealis are usually caused by excited oxygen particles at an altitude of 60 miles, while red and purple come from nitrogen at a higher altitude.
So if you ever find yourself in Northumberland or anywhere in the UK, keep your eyes peeled - you never know when you'll be lucky enough to witness the beauty of Steve or the Northern Lights.
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