The northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, were recorded in parts of Europe last night, and this time they could be seen throughout Croatia.
The sky above Croatia was colored in pink, red and purple tones last night. This exceptional natural phenomenon, which is not often seen in Croatia, also enticed Frano Vukušić, a lightning hunter from Kaštela, to use his camera to capture the beautiful scenes in the sky above Kaštela.
How does the aurora borealis occur?
Aurora borealis (northern lights) is caused by the sun ejecting charged particles (electrons and protons) – the so-called solar wind – which reach the Earth, but are directed towards the poles by the Earth's magnetic field. In the upper layers of the atmosphere, they collide with gases (oxygen and nitrogen). These collisions create light effects of different colors: green – oxygen (most common), red – oxygen at higher altitudes, and blue and purple – nitrogen. That is why the northern lights are most often seen near the North and South Poles, and in rare cases (when solar activity is strong) in Croatia.
Photo: Frane Vukušić
