Northern Lights growing impact on humanity to be explored in Leicester

The impact the Northern Lights has on our world will be explored by a leading expert in the field at a free talk at Space Park Leicester.

The colourful natural light shows – also known as the Aurora Borealis – are one of nature’s most spectacular displays and are caused by Earth’s magnetic field interacting with the solar wind.

During the past couple of years, they have been more visible in the UK, partly because the Sun is reaching a ‘maximum’ in its 11-year cycle which leads to it expelling superheated plasma and magnetic fields which send charged particles to Earth, creating the aurora.

Aurora enthusiasts can discover more about the phenomenon’s causes and its significance for society during a talk by Associate Professor Dr Darren Wright, of Space Park Leicester and the University of Leicester’s Planetary Science Group and School of Physics & Astronomy.

He said: “Ultimately the northern and southern lights are driven by space weather originating at the Sun and are a measure of energy transfer from near-Earth space into our atmosphere.

“We know that during dynamic solar events such as geomagnetic storms, space- and ground-based infrastructure are impacted which can have significant repercussions on society.

“In more recent years we have learned that these interactions can also influence the lower atmosphere where we exist.”

While it is safe for people to observe the Northern Lights, space weather can have an impact on modern technological systems, including satellites, satellite-based navigation systems, electricity grids and communications systems.

Experts predict that the impact of space weather on our economies is set to increase, due to our growing reliance on satellite navigation systems in transportation and aviation.

Dr Wright’s talk – called ‘The northern lights: societal impacts of geomagnetic storms’ – will include observations of the aurora from a number of sources, including radars and cameras. It will be part of Space Park Conversations, a free series of talks for members of the Space Park Leicester community and the general public, and will start at 3.30pm on Tuesday, July 1.

To secure a free place, visit: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1407168130759

Discover more about Space Park Leicester’s cutting-edge partnerships, pioneering missions, resident community, state-of-the-art facilities, specialist training programmes and innovation ecosystem at www.space-park.co.uk. Explore how your organisation can collaborate with us here. To learn more about the University of Leicester, visit le.ac.uk.

Main image: the Northern Lights photographed over Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, in 2024