Northern Lights and Solar Storm: The Reasons Why It Wasn't Seen in Italy

The night between June 1 and 2, 2025 was full of hope. Thousands of people, from enthusiasts to the curious, had their eyes fixed on the sky. They were expecting a rare spectacle: the Northern Lights , here in Italy . The culprit? Or rather the culprit… a powerful solar storm , classified between G3 and G4 . In theory, an event capable of moving the aurora far beyond the polar zones, up to our latitudes…

an almost magical phenomenon, like in a movie. And instead, the night passed like this. Without flashes, without that luminous dance that everyone imagined. What a disappointment. But why?

Promises of a Solar Storm and the Dream of the Northern Lights

It all started with the Sun, which “spat out” a massive coronal mass ejection — the famous CME. A cloud of charged particles, launched at full speed toward the Earth. According to NASA and NOAA, the impact would have arrived on the afternoon of June 1 , with a class G4 geomagnetic storm. Strong stuff, capable of making those who follow these phenomena dream.

This type of solar storm , in theory, should move the Northern Lights much further south than usual. All the way to the Italian sky . The show was expected between 11 pm and 3 am , an ideal time to watch the dark sky, away from artificial lights and light pollution. Maybe on a hill or in the mountains, with a clear horizon towards the north. Even a faint glow would have been visible. Someone pointed the camera, hoping for a long exposure.

The reason why the Northern Lights were missing in Italy

Unfortunately, the weather was not kind… The peak of the storm came around 2 pm, when the sky was still bright. So, no Northern Lights visible to the naked eye. And even if the solar storm lasted a few hours longer, its intensity decreased during the night . In short, not much to see.

Then, solar storm forecasts are never 100% accurate. Sometimes the strength drops faster, or the interplanetary magnetic field “misaligns.” In practice: solar particles cannot penetrate the Earth’s magnetosphere well. And the aurora does not form or remains too faint to be seen.

Then there is the weather factor, often underestimated. Clouds and haze covered much of the Italian sky. And light pollution, especially in cities, made it almost impossible to see anything. Some photos captured faint flashes, but the majority of people saw… nothing.