Solar storm hits Earth

Chance of aurora sighting over Austria

Because a solar storm has hit the Earth's magnetic field, there is a chance of seeing auroras in Austria on Monday night. Provided there are no clouds blocking the view.

Hours earlier than expected, a solar storm hit the Earth's magnetic field on Sunday and triggered a severe geomagnetic storm, reports the website spaceweather.com, run by astronomer Tony Phillips.

Can lead to power outages
This weather event in space can cause high-energy particles hurled towards Earth to damage electronics on satellites and disrupt radio transmissions. Electrical power grids on the ground are also at risk: Magnetic storms can cause damage to transformer stations, leading to power outages.

Sightings possible from early Monday morning
A solar storm is not dangerous for people on the ground, on the contrary: this event gives us the chance to see auroras in Austria from early Monday morning - if the sky is clear.

The spectacular luminous phenomena in the sky are caused by high-energy charged particles hitting the Earth's atmosphere and exciting nitrogen and oxygen atoms. This causes light to be emitted. The last time you could marvel at the glow in the sky in Central Europe was in November .