Northern Lights Illuminate Skies Over Poland

The news in Polish

1. zorza  (f.)
   jasne, kolorowe światło na niebie blisko biegunów Ziemi, widoczne głównie w nocy ↩︎
2. fioletowy
   w kolorze między niebieskim a czerwonym, podobny do koloru lawendy ↩︎
3. cząsteczka  (f.)
   bardzo małe części substancji, z których zbudowane są ciała ↩︎
4. atmosfera  (f.)
   warstwa gazów otaczająca planetę, na przykład Ziemię ↩︎
5. naukowiec  (m.)
   osoby, które zawodowo zajmują się nauką i prowadzą badania ↩︎
6. przyszłość  (f.)
   czas, który dopiero nadejdzie, wszystko, co stanie się później ↩︎

Translation

Text comprehension

Question 1: In which parts of Poland were the northern lights seen in the last nights?

Question 2: What causes the northern lights to appear in the sky?

Vocabulary

Polish	English
zorza  (f.)	aurora / northern lights
fioletowy	violet / purple
cząsteczka  (f.)	particle / molecule (depending on context)
atmosfera  (f.)	atmosphere
naukowiec  (m.)	scientist
przyszłość  (f.)	future

Read the full story

In recent nights, the skies over northern and central Poland have been lit up by a rare display of the aurora borealis, more commonly known as the Northern Lights. The colourful spectacle was visible in regions such as Pomerania, the Suwalki area in the north-east and, according to reports, even further south towards the country’s centre.

This was already the second strong aurora event in Poland this year, after earlier displays in mid-January and again around 20–21 March. Astronomers and weather services suggested that another opportunity for observation could occur on a following Sunday night, as conditions linked to the Sun’s activity were still favourable.

Experts explained that the recent auroras were connected to intense processes on the Sun. One source pointed to a coronal mass ejection (CME) – a large burst of solar material – released during strong solar flares. Another specialist noted that satellite data from the ACE spacecraft showed a fast stream of solar wind, moving at about 650 kilometres per second, arriving from a coronal hole in the Sun’s outer atmosphere.

A key factor was the behaviour of a parameter known as Bz, which describes the direction of part of the interplanetary magnetic field. When Bz remains in a negative state for several hours, it allows the solar wind to interact more strongly with the Earth’s magnetic field and increases the chance of visible auroras even at lower latitudes such as Poland. Magnetometers, which measure changes in the planet’s magnetic field, at times indicated disturbances strong enough to suggest episodes close to a G3-class geomagnetic storm.

Weather conditions played an important role in who could actually see the lights. Forecasters reported that the sky over Warsaw was generally clear, while areas such as the Tri-City (Gdansk, Gdynia, Sopot), Poznan and Wroclaw experienced more cloud, with only temporary clear spells. In some southern cities, observers had to wait through low temperatures and passing clouds, but many still managed to spot the phenomena during breaks in the overcast sky.

Despite the cold, amateur astronomers and residents across the country stayed up late to watch the night sky. Observers shared numerous images on social media, showing green, red and violet bands and curtains of light stretching across the horizon. According to reports from astronomy enthusiasts, the second CME that reached Earth during the night produced much stronger visual effects than an earlier one the same day, which had caused little visible disturbance.

For many people in Poland, seeing the aurora was unusual, as the phenomenon is normally associated with higher latitudes such as Norway, Iceland or northern Canada. Polish media and astronomy communicators encouraged viewers who captured photographs or videos to send their material to newsrooms and science portals, helping to document how far south the lights had reached.

The aurora borealis occurs when charged particles from the Sun, carried by the solar wind, collide with atoms of gas in the upper layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. Oxygen and nitrogen atoms absorb energy and then release it as light, a process sometimes compared to how a fluorescent lamp works. The Earth’s magnetic field directs these particles towards the polar regions, creating the characteristic arcs, bands and moving curtains of light around the magnetic poles.

The colours depend on the type of gas and the altitude at which the collisions occur. Oxygen typically produces green and red light, while nitrogen is responsible for blue and violetaurora borealis, and around the southern pole it is known as aurora australis. Both names are linked to Aurora, the Roman goddess of the dawn.

Scientists expect more such displays in the coming months and years as the Sun approaches a phase of higher activity in its roughly 11-year solar cycle. For people in Poland and other mid-latitude countries, this increases the possibility of seeing the Northern Lights far from the Arctic regions, provided that both space weather conditions and local cloud cover are favourable.

Info: ‘Polish Learner News’ is a service from ‘Let’s Learn Polish’, a language school offering various types of online Polish courses with experienced Polish tutors. It shares updates, resources and practical information for learners who study with us or are interested in starting Polish.