Powerful Solar Flare Makes Aurora Borealis Visible over Parts of Bulgaria

Bulgaria experienced a powerful solar storm last night, recorded by the Geomagnetic Observatory of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) in the town of Panagyurishte, Central Bulgaria.

The storm triggered an unusual natural phenomenon: the Northern Lights were visible over parts of the country after midnight, November 12. The event was caused by intense solar flares occurring over three consecutive days.

“Around midnight, the magnetic field became highly disturbed, and rapid variations in its strength were observed,” said Assoc. Prof. Dr Petya Trifonova, a geophysicist at the National Institute of Geophysics, Geodesy and Geography (NIGGG-BAS).

Footage of the aurora was provided by a volunteer fire brigade observatory.

“These auroras have been observed very strongly over the past few days. They are typically confined to polar regions, but extreme events like this can make them visible at lower latitudes, such as ours,” Trifonova added.

This was the strongest geomagnetic storm of the year.

“The scale is 1 to 9. Values between 0 and 3 indicate a calm magnetic field; 4 shows signal disturbances; from 5 upwards we speak of a geomagnetic storm. Last night, the scale reached 9, the maximum value,” explained Trifonova.
Geomagnetic storms can also affect technology and even human health.

“They can cause physiological changes in people, affecting blood pressure and pulse. Many feel anxiety or sleep disturbances,” Trifonova noted.

Experts expect the storm to subside by the end of the week.