Rare aurora borealis dazzles skies over Poland

The news in Polish

1. zorza  (f.)
   zjawisko świetlne na niebie, widoczne głównie w pobliżu biegunów, w postaci kolorowych świateł ↩︎
2. polarny
   związany z okolicami biegunów Ziemi, dotyczacy rejonów bardzo daleko na północy lub południu ↩︎
3. miejscowość  (f.)
   miasto lub wieś; miejsce, gdzie mieszkają ludzie ↩︎
4. naukowiec  (m.)
   osoby, które zawodowo zajmują się badaniami i nauką ↩︎
5. zjawisko  (n.)
   coś, co można zaobserwować, co się dzieje w naturze lub społeczeństwie ↩︎
6. aktywność  (f.)
   stan, kiedy coś intensywnie działa lub się dzieje; duża ilość działań ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: On which night was the strong aurora borealis visible over Poland?

Question 2: What did many people do when they saw the aurora borealis in the sky?

Vocabulary

Polish	English
zorza  (f.)	aurora
polarny	polar
miejscowość  (f.)	locality
naukowiec  (m.)	scientists
zjawisko  (n.)	phenomenon
aktywność  (f.)	activity

Read the full story

On the night from Monday to Tuesday, a rare and spectacular aurora borealis illuminated skies across almost the whole of Poland. The colourful display, usually limited to areas near the Arctic Circle, was visible this time in the north, centre and even the south of the country, including major cities with strong artificial lighting.

According to Polish astronomy portals, the most intense phase of the aurora occurred between 10 p.m. and midnight. During these hours, bright bands and vertical rays of light stretched high above the northern horizon, in some places reaching close to the zenith, directly overhead. Observers reported that the shapes and brightness of the aurora changed quickly, sometimes within a few minutes.

The dominant colour over Poland was a vivid green, linked by experts to the emission of oxygen atoms at altitudes of around 100–150 kilometres. However, people also captured red, purple and even orange tones, which are usually associated with higher layers of the atmosphere and are considered unusual at Polish latitudes. Such rich colours normally require exceptionally strong disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field.

Media and weather services describe this aurora as one of the strongest in recent months over Europe. An astronomy populariser quoted by Polish television suggested it could be regarded as the second most powerful display since a particularly intense storm on 10 May 2024. Another specialist portal underlined that the event clearly showed how, under favourable conditions, the auroral zone can shift south and make the phenomenon visible over Central Europe.

Photos and videos sent by viewers and readers indicate how widespread the display was. Images came from numerous regions, including the Pomeranian, Greater Poland, Silesian, Subcarpathian, Masovian, Lower Silesian, Lublin, Kuyavian-Pomeranian, Opole, West Pomeranian and Warmian-Masurian voivodeships. The aurora was photographed over cities such as Wrocław, Rzeszów and Zielona Góra, as well as smaller towns and villages, and was even recorded from a plane flying above Warsaw. Some Polish observers abroad also reported seeing the lights as far away as Heppenheim in Germany.

Social networks in Poland quickly filled with images of the night sky. Witnesses described a very strong aurora, with colours and structures clearly visible to the naked eye. One contributor noted that even orange shades, which are rarely seen, could be distinguished without special equipment. Many people compared the view to scenes more typical of Iceland or northern Scandinavia than of Central Europe.

Astronomy portals explain that such an impressive display was connected to increased solar activity in the days before the event. The Sun had released clouds of plasma, known as coronal mass ejections, which travelled through space as part of the solar wind. When this stream of charged particles reached Earth, it interacted with our planet’s magnetic field, causing strong geomagnetic disturbances. These disturbances helped push the typical “auroral oval” much further south than usual, allowing the lights to appear over Poland.

Scientists describe the aurora borealis as a light phenomenon in the upper atmosphere. As energetic particles from the Sun are guided along magnetic field lines towards the polar regions, they collide with oxygen and nitrogen atoms high above the ground. These atoms then emit light in different colours: green and red from oxygen, and blue or violet from nitrogen. On Earth, the phenomenon is called aurora borealis near the North Pole and aurora australis near the South Pole, names that come from the Latin word for dawn and the name of the Roman goddess Aurora.

Experts note that such a strong and multi-coloured aurora so far south remains rare, even during periods of high solar activity. After midnight, the intensity over Poland gradually decreased, and visibility worsened. Still, for many residents the night will likely be remembered as an exceptional example of how solar activity can temporarily transform the night sky far from the polar regions.

Info: ‘Polish Learner News’ is a service from ‘Let’s Learn Polish’, a language school dedicated to teaching Polish, where we offer various types of Polish lessons online to help learners develop their skills at different levels.