Stardust from the sun: Northern lights illuminate Bavaria!

Stardust from the sun: Northern lights illuminate Bavaria!

On the night of Tuesday, January 20, 2026, the sky over Bavaria lit up in an impressive spectacle: a strong geomagnetic solar storm caused breathtaking northern lights. These were particularly visible in Franconia and up to the Alps and attracted many curious people outside to experience the fascinating natural phenomenon. Conditions were ideal with clear skies and the new moon further enhancing the visibility of the crimson and green lights. Loud BR it was a result of a strong eruption from the sun.

Markus Bayer, a meteorologist at the DWD, explained that the charged particles from the solar wind caused the upper layers of the atmosphere to glow. The geomagnetic storm, which reached level G4, was classified by the US Atmospheric Agency NOAA. Such storms are not uncommon, but can have a massive impact on technology, including disruption to satellites and GPS systems.

Icy atmospheres and technical challenges

The phenomenon did not only affect Bavaria. The northern lights were also visible in many other parts of Germany, from Brandenburg to the Alps. This broad area, which benefited from high solar storm intensity, was also documented by the DWD. Despite weather challenges such as clouds in some regions, passionate sky watchers were able to enjoy the colorful light displays in the right conditions, such as over Dagebüll, where the sky glowed red and green.

For scientists, this geomagnetic storm is another example of the dynamic forces of nature. The eruption cloud only took about 25 hours to reach Earth - an extremely fast journey, as similar phenomena usually take three to four days. Such geomagnetic storms arise from a sudden increase in particles emitted from solar flares that affect the Earth's magnetosphere. These disturbances can occur globally and also complicate the beauty of the sky on a technical level.

Secret powers of the sun

The sun's flares are part of an 11-year solar cycle determined by the number of sunspots. These cool regions in the Sun's surface are created by strong magnetic fields, where coronal mass ejections (CMEs) continue to be generated. The northern lights can also appear during these special events. Loud Meteorologiaenred When geomagnetic storms are extremely strong, they can not only influence atmospheric phenomena, but also cause damage to technical infrastructure.

Today's observations show how exciting the interactions between the Sun and Earth are. Whether it's the northern lights or technical challenges, the connection remains a fascinating subject for scientists and nature enthusiasts. And so we can only hope that the next opportunity to admire the Northern Lights won't be too long in coming.