Delight for the many people who come out to see the northern lights in the night sky above Ireland.
David Moore of Astronomy Ireland described the natural phenomenon as,
A fantastic display
Astronomy Ireland received reports of sightings of the Northern Lights from across the country. David Moore describes how the fluorescent effect occurs.
What we're seeing are the particles of the sun thrown out by that explosion on Tuesday morning at 11 am. They've made it to the earth, they're hitting the upper atmosphere and making the air glow.
Speeded up footage shows the full extent of what the sky watchers were able to see.
So long as the sky remains clear, the Northern Lights should be visible across Ireland for some hours to come.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 29 October 2003. The reporter is Sinéad Crowley.
