Northern lights may be visible over Denmark

A period of elevated solar activity may bring the magical astronomical display over Denmark

The mesmerising astronomical phenomenon known as the northern lights may be dancing in the Danish skies later this week.

According to DR Nyheder meteorologist Jesper Theilgaard, a sunspot four times the size of earth could flare up and propel high-speed particles at the earth’s atmosphere, resulting in a magical display visible from as far south as Denmark.

 “We are experiencing an extraordinary sunspot period and sunspot number 1944 could affect the earth,” Theilgaard said.

Dancing lights
Sunspots are areas of the sun's surface with intense magnetic concentration and tend to be between 4,000-50,000 kilometres in diameter.

The high-speed particles they emit are diverted around the earth by its magnetic field, but some get trapped within it and are concentrated around the earth’s poles.

As the particles interact with the atmosphere they glow, causing the distinctive dancing lights in the skies around the north and south poles that are also called aurora.