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“I mean, I have never seen the northern lights that good from the UK before. I was blown away,” Professor Jim Wild (Physics) tells BBC Radio Lancashire on 13 May, following the most powerful solar storm in almost 20 years. How do they happen and for those of us who missed it, is it going to happen again? (listen here from 1:20, audience reach 74,000) – aired simultaneously on BBC Radio Cumbria (audience reach 41,000).

He also spoke to Times Radio about the Carrington Event – the first observations of a solar flare in real time by an English astronomer in 1859 – telling listeners “that storm was probably three or four times the size of the event we have seen here this weekend, on planet Earth”. What are the chances of something like that happening any time soon? (listen here behind a paywall).

Also on 13 May, Professor Wild told the Mirror there could be “another coronal mass ejection earthward at almost any time” (read here, monthly visitors 87.9m), with similar comments shared by an article by the Metro (read here, monthly visitors 37m), later published by Tyla (read here, monthly visitors 935,947).

A day later, the Financial Times penned an opinion piece suggesting More luminous treats may lie in store, with Professor Wild suggesting of the weekend phenomenon: “most infrastructure in orbit, in the air and on the ground weathered the storm pretty well” (read here, monthly visitors 33.3m and circulation 114,918).

Over on the Mail Online, research by Lancaster looking into the impact of geomagnetic storms – signal malfunctions on railway lines, switching lights from red to green – was referenced (read here, monthly visitors 369.2m).

Lancaster’s AuroraWatch UK also gained traction, with mentions by BBC Breakfast (13 May), BBC Radio stations Manchester, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Humberside, and Lincolnshire; and Edinburgh’s Forth 1 (14 May), as well as BBC Online in an article focusing on the app (read here).

Other outlets referencing the equipment include The Independent (read here, monthly visitors 109.4m); the Mirror (read here, monthly visitors 87.9m); the Express (read here, monthly visitors 76.8m); Manchester Evening News (read here, monthly visitors 27.2m); North Devon Gazette (read here, monthly visitors 61,954); Wales Online (read here, monthly visitors 23.3m); Birmingham Live (read here, monthly visitors 30.2m); and others in the Reach PLC group.

Following the display, the Metro wrote about the ‘strongest solar flare in a decade’, quoting Professor Wild as saying it was ‘unlikely to trigger displays of the northern lights’ again (read here, monthly visitors 40.1m).

On Thursday 16 May, there was another flurry of articles online sharing how the northern lights could be visible again this week, but Professor Wild told The Sun there was “no guarantees” (read here, monthly visitors 94.7m). Other outlets who covered the hopeful Met Office reports include the Mirror (read here, monthly visitors 87.9m); the Express (read here, monthly visitors 76.8m); and regional papers in the Newsquest group including the Lancashire Telegraph (read here, monthly visitors 3.1m).

Professor Wild also wrote for The Conversation how the Solar storms that caused pretty auroras can create havoc with technology (read here, also published in Portuguese).