The Aurora Borealis?! At this time of year, localised entirely in Guernsey?

Tuesday 14 March 2023

A couple living in Guernsey managed to catch a "spectacular" glimpse of the Northern Lights from their bedroom window last week.

St. Saviour-based Scott Nelson said he and his fiancée were getting ready for bed last Tuesday night, at around 22:30, when they saw a glow which caught their attention.

"We had just gotten into bed and we happened to just see a glow from the bedroom window," he explained. "I thought it was someone with a green light at first in the direction of the airport but then through the breaks in the clouds a huge green glow just appeared."

The couple were mesmerised by the lights' display.

"I still can’t get over the fact we saw them," said Scott.

"We just sat watching it for nearly an hour as it was shimmering away and changing shape... [It was] probably one of the most spectacular things I’ve ever witnessed on a rainy night in Guernsey."

Pictured: Scott Nelson and his fiancée saw the Northern Lights from their home in Guernsey. (Scott Nelson)

The Northern Lights are also known as the 'aurora borealis' and are a noted atmospheric phenomenon regarded by many as the peak achievement in skywatching.

The light display is a reflection of the reaction caused when particles from the sun are redirected by the earth's magnetic fields. This causes the famous green glow which Mr Nelson and his fiancée saw last week.

People travel to various locations in the very north of Europe in the hope of seeing the lights, with no guarantee of whether they'll be visible.

Popular locations are Svalbard in Norway, Reykjavik in Iceland and Rovaniemi in Finland.

There have been a number of confirmed sightings of the Northern Lights across the UK this year with skygazers advising that it would be possible to see them as far down as southern England. 

Mr Nelson's photos are the first published images of the Northern Lights captured this year in Guernsey.