Northern lights spotted over Ukraine: the rare phenomenon could be seen in Odesa and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. Photo

Last night, the northern lights were seen over Ukraine. In particular, residents of Odesa and Ivano-Frankivsk regions saw incredible shimmering colored lights in the sky.

After a series of powerful solar flares last week, scientists warned that our planet could be hit by a geomagnetic storm. And it was the coronal mass ejections - a plume of plasma and magnetic field that were heading towards the Earth - that provoked the northern lights, a photo of which was shared by the NEXTA Live Telegram channel.

In the past, such an unusual atmospheric phenomenon as the northern lights could be seen in Ukraine once every few years, as it is not typical for our latitude. However, in recent years, solar flares have become more powerful and more frequent. Therefore, Ukrainians have the opportunity to watch this "night light show" several times a year.

"Since 2017, there have been about five magnetic storms that could potentially lead to aurora borealis. That is, about one per year. In the next two to three years, there is a possibility that the phenomenon will be more frequent, because now we are close to the solar maximum," Andriy Zalizovskyi, Head of the Department of Radio Physics of the Geo Cosmos of the Radio Astronomy Institute of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, told Suspilne.

The scientist also shared how and where to see the northern lights. "The sky needs to be clear. The phenomenon is observed on the horizon. With such magnetic storms, this is more or less a common thing for Ukraine," Zalizovskyi said.

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