Look up: Northern Lights could be visible in Belgium this Saturday

One of the ejections should reach Earth on Saturday morning, the second in the evening, announcing the Northern Lights.

Magnificent northern lights observed in the Ardennes sky (photos)

These coronal mass ejections, upon their impact with our planet, can generate geomagnetic storms. According to the American weather agency NOAA, these storms are expected to be category G3. The northern lights visible last May in Belgium were due to a G5 storm, the highest category according to the geomagnetic storm index.

However, it is very difficult to predict how quickly and with what power these solar ejections will reach the Earth. This information will only be known about half an hour before the plasma particles reach our planet, when satellites will be able to measure them at a distance of about a million kilometers.

We must also hope for clear skies to best observe these light phenomena.

The Northern Lights are more common in the so-called auroral zone, around the North Pole, but they can be observed at lower latitudes during intense solar flares.

“Get away from lights and urban environments, look to the north,” advises Farid El Mokaddem. “It is sometimes also necessary to accustom your eyes to the darkness to clearly distinguish these little veils of color.”