IN PICTURES. New Northern Lights in Vendée and Loire-Atlantique for the greatest pleasure of the eyes

This rare phenomenon is always magical. The Northern Lights were visible in the night sky from Thursday to Friday, with a festival of unusual colors in our latitudes.

Last night was magical for photographers.

“A sleepless night…rather colorful”, Jean-Marie Poirier, Philippe Maindron’s accomplice on the Poupet festival and passionate about photography, raves on his Facebook page, “aurora flattered by a long exposure, truly visible to the naked eye twice during the night. A nod to Pink October. A sparkling night, which we will not soon forget!”

A few days earlier, Jean-Marie Poirier had already been able to capture “a little shy, but very real” at Mont des Alouettes.

Same pleasure on the side of Grégory Audubert who, on the side of Noirmoutier, did not miss a beat, with his group of amateur photographers, “a magical night under the Northern Lights at Herbaudière”.

“The sky lit up with dazzling hues, ranging from pink to purple, offering an unexpected nod to the month of Pink October. This magical spectacle enchanted the assembly, appreciated Grégory Audubert and his comrades, the colors were incredible, almost unreal. A real feast for the eyes and our cameras.”

“Several salvos will have lit up the night. The first, around 10:50 p.m., will have lit up the bay of Sables-d’Olonne, explains Valentin Perrault, eIt was clearly visible to the naked eye for several tens of minutes. And it must be said that the lights of the city do not help in its observation. Just incredible!”

In Loire-Atlantique, Lake Grandlieu was also the scene of the Northern Lights on the night of October 10 to 11.

Same lovely spectacle captured in Sucé-sur-Erdre captured by Johann Challoyard, in the hamlet of Lavoir.

This Friday evening, it will once again be possible to observe the Northern Lights in Loire-Atlantique and Vendée.

These phenomena are becoming less and less rare in our latitudes. So last May, already in Vendée and in November 2023 in Maine-et-Loire.

“In Norway, they have them all year round, the fact that we see them in France means that the activity of the sun is much more intense,” Aurélien Braud, an amateur photographer, explained to us in November 2023.

The aurora borealis forms when there is collision between particles charged with electrons and protons and gaz which are found in the upper atmosphere land.

“These collisions generate tiny flashes of light which fill the sky with colorful veils. Billions of glows appear in sequence, making it appear as if the aurora is moving or dancing across the sky“, explain the Canadian space agency.

“It’s the magnetic field of the Earth which guides the charged particles. The shape of Earth’s magnetic field creates two ovals above the north and south poles. This is why auroras occur almost every night in the northern sky, from August to May.”add the scientists.

The Northern Lights occur in the thermosphere, one of the uppermost layers ofthe atmosphere. Depending on the altitude at which the phenomenon occurs, the colors emitted vary between red, yellow, green, purple and blue. The difference in colors is due to the type of gas ionized by solar winds.

At altitudes of 100 to 200 km, the colors emitted can be yellow, green, pink or blue presence of oxygenpurple or red in the presence of nitrogen.

“The peak is normally expected for 2025, that’s what the scientists say. But the sun is obviously two years ahead”Aurélien Bréau explained to us last November.

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