Aurora from Central Europe

Aurora Borealis on 5 May 2024 from Záhořice, Czech Republic

Last night, on May 5th, 2024, the aurora surprisingly appeared even in the Czech Republic, a European mid-latitude country. I observed from Záhořice village. There were two prominent peaks – after local midnight (after 10 pm UT) and before local 2 am (before midnight UT). Both were visible even to the naked eye, despite the cirrus clouds. This was caused by the strong solar flare produced by hyperactive sunspot AR3663 on May 3rd, 2024, which also hurled a coronal mass ejection cloud partly to Earth. Actually, this sunspot was much more active; perhaps this is not the last aurora visible from the country this week. Well, what a surprise!

Used Canon Ra. Wider images were taken at ISO 4000, 15s, 35mm, f2.0, closer views at ISO 3200, 10s, 50mm, f1.4.