Last night there was again aurora to see in the Northern Netherlands. A group of sunspots produced a powerful M1.7 flare on Tuesday. This solar flare was aimed directly at Earth. The electrically charged particles collided with Earth last night, causing the spectacular light show.

The aurora could be seen with the naked eye on Terschelling, reports photographer Albert Wester via Twitter. Deeper in the Netherlands – such as in Doetinchem – there was also a clear glow.

It is the second time in a week that the Dutch have seen the northern lights. Last weekend it was already hit in the north of the Netherlands. This is quite unique, because the last time that the northern lights were visible so well in the Benelux was in 2015. There is a good chance that the northern lights will be seen more often in the coming years, because the solar minimum has now passed. Our sun follows a roughly 11-year cycle, which is characterized by a solar maximum and a solar minimum. During a solar minimum, the sun is very calm and generates few sunspots and flares. And during a solar maximum, the sun is very active. The last solar maximum took place in 2014. The solar minimum took place last year and now the sun seems to be waking up again, because more sunspots have been visible since a year.

A photo of the M1.7 flare on Nov. 2.

Why are northern lights better seen near the poles?

Northern lights are not often seen in the Netherlands. If you are a big fan of northern lights, the best place to travel is to the poles. Aurora Borealis (aurora borealis / aurora australis) are more visible there and they look spectacular. This has to do with the Earth’s magnetic field. When the charged particles enter the magnetic field of our planet, these particles are automatically drawn towards the poles. That is why the Northern Lights can be seen well in countries such as Greenland, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. In the Netherlands, the aurora looks less spectacular. Usually the Northern Lights manifest themselves here as an orange or green glow close to the horizon.

Below is a selection of the most beautiful photos on Twitter. Have you photographed the Northern Lights yourself? Leave a comment below this article!