The first lights of dawn have returned to Puglia, painting the skies of the region, from Gargano to Salento, with extraordinary shades of red and pink. This natural spectacle, which painted the skies of Italy yesterday evening, Friday 10 May, was caused by an intense geomagnetic storm that hit the Earth, bringing with it the suggestive auroras even at lower latitudes. It is certainly not the first time that the Italian skies are tinged with these brilliant pink and red tones: already last November, in Vico del Gargano, this phenomenon could be admired.
Today, Saturday 11 May, the most significant effects of the magnetic storm are expected, with the US agency Noaa’s Space Weather Prediction Center raising the forecast level for the storm to G4, the second highest on the rating scale. This leads to potential impacts on the electricity grid, satellite navigation systems such as GPS and possible problems for satellites and spacecraft, as well as the possibility of witnessing the phenomenon again even at lower latitudes, as happened yesterday. “Yesterday was truly extraordinary, with many people who managed to observe the show, which began immediately after sunset and lasted until two in the morning,” explains Giuseppe Livrieri of MeteOne. “The chances of it happening again tonight are very high. It was a fairly unexpected event, even based on NOAA forecasts, but the solar wind was faster than usual and the sky literally lit up.”
The phenomenon was visible in almost all of Puglia, “from Gargano to Salento. I received photos from different areas of the region. Of course, the Gargano, being further north, was able to enjoy a more intense display of that bright red, which is actually ionized monatomic oxygen. The intensity of the sun was such that it pushed the auroras all the way to the south. Now the experts will have to establish whether they were auroras or Sars”, adds Livrieri. Sars are distinguished from classic auroras above all by their monochrome, “but in Italy we will never see the typical green sky of the Nordic countries, because this depends on the layer of atmosphere hit by the particles.” The images of the phenomenon were immediately shared on social media and the images of the auroras of San Severo, Vico del Gargano and Pisticci were published on the MeteOne page. For those who missed the show, they will have a new opportunity this evening: “just raise your eyes and head north”, concludes Livrieri.
An article reports it Erika Cuscito for the Corriere del Mezzogiorno. Aurora borealis in Puglia, pink and red sky from Gargano to Salento: «An extraordinary phenomenon»
