Incredible red 'aurora' over North Wales that turned out to be something much rarer

A rare SAR arc photographed from Llynnau Mymbyr near Capel Curig
-Credit:Tony Harnett


A recent burst of geomagnetic activity had photographers rushing to capture the night skies. What they found was even more extraordinary than the Northern Lights.

Tony Harnett, who divides his time between Beddgelert and Warrington, was hoping to find the aurora lights in Eryri (Snowdonia). From Llynnau Mymbyr near Capel Curig, Conwy, he was excited to capture a red aurora against the Orion constellation that was not quite what it seemed.

Following online feedback, Tony discovered his photo showed a rare “SAR” - a Stable Auroral Red (SAR) arc that projects as a band of red light across the sky. Tony said. “I took the photo last Wednesday (January 1) and I’ve since been told its a SAR arc. It wasn't something I’d ever heard of before. I can’t believe my luck - it really was a once in a life-time shot!” Sign up for the North Wales Live newsletter sent twice daily to your inbox.

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He wasn’t alone. Across North Wales, other aurora-chasers shared similar images, many not knowing what they showed. Among them was Jonny B Photography who, realising what it was, captured the phenomenon in stunning detail at Llanddona Beach, Anglesey. By stitching together 17 separate images into a spectacular panorama, he was able to fully illustrate the SAR as it arched across the horizon.

SARs look like auroras but they are different. While auroras are causing by energetic particles raining down from space, making the Earth’s atmosphere glow like an old colour TV, SARs are created differently. Thought to be generated by extreme thermal and kinetic energy in the atmosphere, they are taken to be a sign that heat energy leaking from the from Earth’s ring current system.

SAR arcs are typically dim and are usually difficult to see with the naked eye. For this reason, their existence wasn’t even known until 1956. Brighter ones can occur during strong geomagnetic storms, usually persisting for several hours and remaining stationary.

Full SAR arc photographed on Anglesey

Sunday (January 5) offered another chance to catch the Northern Lights, and perhaps even a SAR arc. But with Met Office weather warnings in place for snow and ice, dense cloud cover defeated attempts to see them. The North Wales Live Whatsapp community for top stories and breaking news is live now - here’s how to sign up

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The New Year arrived not only with fireworks but also with dramatic displays of aurora around the world. It followed a flurry of late-2024 solar flares from the sun’s surface, including an X-class event on December 29 that projected two clouds of charged particles towards the Earth.

More X-class flares were detected in the following days and, weather permitting, aurora hunters will be keeping their eyes peeled on the night skies this week. With the sun now at Solar Maximum – peak activity in its 11-year cycle – a significant number of aurora events at more southerly altitudes are expected this year.

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