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IRISH AURORA FORECASTERS have predicted that the Northern Lights will likely be visible across large parts of Ireland tomorrow night, meaning people will be able to mark the start of the new year with a natural light show.
The Magnetometer Network of Ireland, which measures the magnetic field strength of the earth, is currently tracking major solar flare activity, which may mean the Northern Lights will be visible as far south as Dublin tomorrow.
Professor Peter Gallagher of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies told The Journal that he thinks “there will be Aurora visible”, adding that several prediction models are showing that the Northern Lights will travel across at least half of the country.
The appearance of the Northern Lights is particularly rare in Ireland at this time of year, as auroras most commonly appear between May and August here.
Gallagher, who is also the principal investigator with the Magnetometer Network of Ireland, added that “it’s really hard to make a forecast” for the Aurora Borealis.
“A solar storm took off from the sun yesterday, which takes a couple of days to get to us, and it’s forecast this solar storm will arrive at the earth tomorrow evening,” Gallagher said.
“That means that from about 6pm tomorrow evening, until approximately 3am the next morning, the flare is expected to hit, which will produce the Aurora. It will then be quiet again by the following day”.
“I do think the Aurora is going to happen, but the question be cloudy or not?” Gallagher added.
The limited time frame for Aurora visibility overlaps with Met Éireann predictions of cloudy weather – but the national weather forecaster has said that clouds may break up during the early hours of New Year’s Day.
Gallagher said that the best thing people can do to increase their chances of spotting the Northern Lights is get away from city areas, which have high levels of light pollution.
“If you live in Cork or Dublin or Galway, just get north of them,” Gallagher explained, adding that the waiting process can be unpredictable and tedious.
“It’s like telling somebody to go out and watch a cloud to see if it’s going to rain – you just have to wait. So go out, wear something nice and warm, and just look north,” he added.
For people in Dublin hoping to spot the Aurora, Gallagher recommends heading for Balbriggan or other north coastal regions.
Donegal will likely have the best chance of spotting the Northern Lights, given that it is the northern-most county.
For those eager to see the Northern Lights in their full glory, a camera or your smartphone may be needed, as in some spots the lights may not be fully visible to the naked eye.
“They can look a little bit gray to start with from the naked eye, but then eventually, as your eyes get used to the darkness and it can turn it green,” Gallagher said.
“If you take your mobile phone out and just take a photograph, your mobile phone will take a great picture faster than your eyes will pick it up however”.
Those hoping to track the predicted movements of the Northern Lights can do so via the Magnetometer Network of Ireland website.
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We’re at full employment, time to start cutting the dole by 25% for every year the work shy stay on it, plus abolish the Christmas bonus for those on welfare, expect for pensioners, carers and disabled.
@Pat Hazzard: It’s never going to happen. Get over your yourself .its a political thing. Wake up and smell the coffee.
@Pat Hazzard: nutjob
@Pat Hazzard: Taxpayers are paying for 400-500 new (fake) asylum seekers per week coming in to this country and you’re harping on about dole spongers. None of the above should be getting a penny of our hard earned money. Give us some real politicians who can sort out this embarrassment. Sort it out NOW!
@YKwkSIqW: I have no issues helping people genuinely fleeing war and conflict. It’s obvious they do need initial assistance and I am more than happy for my taxes to fund this.
I do have have a massive issue; however, with my taxes being used to fund the dole payments for healthy and able people who simply choose not not to work or worse have never worked.
@Luke Windak: The fact is that neither our own dole scammers nor the fake foreign immigrant scammers should be getting any of our taxpayers’ money.
The overpopulation numbers of the countries at war simply couldn’t be absorbed in Europe. Talk to people living in Sweeden, Belgium, and many other European countries that have been destroyed by uncontrolled immigration.
@Thomas Sheridan: ‘Sweden and Belgium are destroyed’ ,really?
@Luke Windak: why is that a problem? There will always be a small percentage of people that don’t want to work and they should be supported. This is not a dystopian slave state where we force people to work.
@Peter Fitzgerald: The people that don’t want to work should be supported? Transported more like, to the nearest building site.
@Pat Hazzard: Unemployment is a requirement of “our” economic system.
Those that manage the economy plan to always have a certain level of unemployment. Otherwise the bargaining power would shift to the worker.
Yet you blame the unemployed.
And want to punish them.
@Peter Fitzgerald: Hi Peter, I don’t want to work any more so I’ll send all my bills to you to pay for me. No one should get dole if they haven’t paid into the system, especially when there are vacancies throughout the country.
Someone please pass the memo onto Mr Roderic O’Gorman, he’s wasted ten’s of millions of Taxpayers money on one project alone,it wasn’t too long ago our kid’s were sitting in leaky prefabs because there was no money apparently to fix them or buy new ones, but O’Gorman seems to have been able to find Millions of euro to house all his new arrivals or IPAs as he calls them.
What exactly is his agenda?
Will the government listen? Nah, not a chance. It’s election time freebies for everyone, even those living in D4.
But they’ll try and buy the votes anyway…. they ignored the fiscal advice last year too.
I am still paying USC while the banks make billions in profit. I will not vote for these liars.
@Sean Money: apparently, it’s for our 280 billion debt, but I’m not sure. In 2008, it was needed to bail the banks out. Now, it’s needed to pay the debt. Yet those responsible are drawing pensions of 300k of taxpayers’ money. Only in Ireland and the banks making billions profit.
@did you every wonder: Govt spending has increased by 30+% compared to 2019. They’re also taking in around 25-30% more income tax and Vat since then…… We on the other hand have much less money in our pockets thanks to the cost of living crisis. Fiscal watchdog doesn’t care if we starve. They don’t even seem to care that the departmental budgets have exploded and they waste money left right and centre! Watch the tax “give away” and keep the regular Joe down is the game!… Problem is there won’t be any more to take when the next crisis hits and the govt want to hike taxes again
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: But what was inflation during that time anyway?
(The real rate, which seems to be higher than the official rate.)
If inflation during that time was also 30%, then the state isn’t increasing spending anyway.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: W.O.W….. by that logic we should all have 20% pay increases and tax should be adjusted to match. Which it hasn’t, which is the point. They’re spending is OTT, we are suffering…… Real rate from Jan 2020 to now is 19.57% according to CSO.
@did you every wonder: The USC and other new taxes (e.g. property tax) were not needed to bail out the banks, the money used for the banks was borrowed. The new taxes were to pay for the day to day spending in the country e.g. pensions, public services etc as our tax take was decimated due to it’s overreliance on property taxes and it’s only in the last couple of years that the country has run a surplus, we had been borrowing every year before that, again paying for public services.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: I’ll dumb it down for you. Pay increases are nowhere near 20% for the period, not even in the public sector, but spending is 30+% more. Any pay increases over 42k the govt gets more than half back in tax. Say you get a 10% raise. The increase to net pay is a much smaller percent than 10% but you pay a much bigger percentage of it in tax. Tax credits need to be increased, bands need to be increased, thresholds need to be increased inline with inflation. They’re choking the life out of the majority of the population to increase their departmental budgets……. So you have an idea of the 2016/2019/2023 exchequer returns figures: Income tax €21B, €25.6B, €36.3B. VAT: €18.6B, €20.9B, €28.4B CT: €8.2B, €12.3B, €26.5B. Fiscal Counsel and ERSI scaremongering!!!
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: My point is that if government spending has increased by 30% but inflation has also increased by 30% then government spending is really at a standstill.
Irrespective of anything else.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: yeah except inflation isn’t at 30%, it’s 20%. It’s an irrelevant point when the topic is a giveaway budget when we are being taxed as if it’s still austerity times!….. In your terms, Govt budget has increased by 10+% relative to 2019 adjusted for inflation, value of my paycheck has decreased by 17%. I got a 5% raise. Worth funk all after tax. See the point!?!?!
Its ok to give BAM another contract to build something that no one asked for, just dont help out the vunerable in society.
@bruce banner: We badly need a state infrastructure company.
@ItWasLikeThatWhenIGotHere: That’s the last thing we need if we want to control the costs. We do however need a state department/company that can draw up a detailed tender so costs can be controlled and not allow contractors to move the goalposts after the contract is signed.
As for the new bridge, surely that money could have been better spend on coastal protection schemes in this country (where the coastline is being washed away with each storm and, as we’re being told, these storms will become more frequent and stronger) rather than a vanity project between 2 somewhat rural areas.
Inflation is up over 20% since 2020. Tax bands need to be widened to reflect this. Total tax reform needed. Income tax take has increased massively since 2019, as has VAT. We’re getting bled dry. Govt budgets have increased by 30% with all this extra cash coming in people have much less disposable income. Maybe the fiscal watchdog should call out the govt wasting of money and departmental budget management and realise how Funked most peoples household budgets are with the taxation on-top of the cost of living crisis
When election nears, governments ignore economical advice to buy elections. Sadly, voters tend to be as short sighted as governments are.
Let’s face it though. You are more likely going to vote for parties offering you money etc then a party saying they intend giving you very little or even advising tax increases for services.
@AnthonyK: spot on
It’s lies
NEVER is always the answer from these people…Tell me their thoughts on the RTE Scandal!!!
Regular detached house in Navan for 600k for example.
Yes, give us more money but it still won’t be enough, even for navan
Mmm. Rings a bell.
Crash on the way
I think the watchdog outfit needs to get a pit bull.
@Oh Mammy: an ill-timed comment considering the tragedy last night!
@Clare Power: True that. However, had he said “a Mali” most people wouldn’t understand.
@ Hector turtlehead: There is no ‘regular detached house’ in Navan for 600k. There are however a number of 4 and 5 bedroom detached properties that could be considered ‘regular’ priced between 380k and 450k. Still a significant wedge but a long way from the 600k you used to try and make your point. These things can be verified so presenting false facts is not very clever. As for 600k homes, there are people who can afford them and I don’t begrudge them that. Why focus on a property one can’t afford rather than those on the market that are significantly cheaper in the same area?
Just leave it as is. Social welfare recipients are almost better off than those working on minimum wage already. Tax bands are just fine, no need to fix anything just because elections on the horizon.
have your say