The northern lights, or aurora borealis, appeared in the skies across a large portion of Bulgaria on Sunday night for the first time. Images and videos of the breathtaking show went popular on social media in a flash.

According to Meteo Balkans, the varying red aurora initially emerged in Bulgaria's northeast and then moved to practically every region of the Balkan nation.

Images of Bulgaria's blood-red sky went viral, with some calling them "apocalyptic" and "spooky" on social media. Others commented how happy they were to witness this fascinating phenomena.

There have been claims of northern light sightings in Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Photos from Slovakia and Poland are also included. On Saturday night, stunning red and green auroras were also seen in the United Kingdom.

India saw its first sighting of the aurora borealis earlier this year. The uncommon occurrence was caught on camera in Ladakh, exciting both astronomers and scientists.

The northern lights and science

For ages, people have been enthralled with the aurora borealis, which usually displays during geomagnetic storms. The Earth's magnetic field disruptions that cause hours-long displays of brilliant auroras at both high and low latitudes are the cause of these celestial wonders.

Although the northern lights, also known as the aurora australis, are most frequently seen in the vicinity of Earth's magnetic north and south poles, they can also occasionally be seen in more temperate regions.

The interaction of solar wind particles—some of which travel millions of kilometres before reaching Earth—originating from the sun gives rise to this phenomena. These particles are directed towards the polar regions by the Earth's magnetic field once they arrive.

The particular gas molecules that these particles come into contact with in the atmosphere and the location of these interactions determine the distinct colours of the auroras. Green light is produced by emissions of oxygen, and red light is produced when nitrogen and oxygen come into contact.

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