With very strong solar activity, passengers flying North of Europe witnessed spectacular Northern Lights.
Some kind crew made 360 turns to allow passengers of both sides of the plane to enjoy strong Northern Lights.
This was the case of Finnair flight #AY488 from Kuusamo to Helsinki on Feb 26. The A319 made a short 360 turn to allow passenger from left side to enjoy the show.
Northern Lights are the result of disturbances in the magnetosphere caused by the solar wind. Major disturbances result from enhancements in the speed of the solar wind from coronal holes and coronal mass ejections.
Same flight. View from the nose. Too bad I did not have proper camera. #feelfinnair #northernlights pic.twitter.com/0C4CqVkjyD
— Tuomo järvinen (@TuomoJaervinen) February 27, 2023
These disturbances alter the trajectories of charged particles in the magnetospheric plasma. These particles, mainly electrons and protons, precipitate into the upper atmosphere.
The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emit light of varying color and complexity.
Big thanks to the @easyJet pilot of EZY1806 from Reykjavik to Manchester who did a 360 fly by mid flight to make sure all passengers could see the incredible Northern Lights 🤩 pic.twitter.com/A4CHi9Hqgo
— Adam Groves (@APTGroves) February 27, 2023
Passengers of easyJet flight #U21806 from Iceland to Manchester were also lucky. Pilots performed a 360 turn over the sea to watch the Northern Lights.
The form of the aurora, occurring within bands around both polar regions, is also dependent on the amount of acceleration imparted to the precipitating particles.