Perseid meteor shower and aurora borealis combine to light up Romania’s sky

This year, the Perseid meteor shower was accompanied by the aurora borealis, a rare phenomenon in Romania. Images of the event quickly spread online.

The Perseids are a meteor shower that occurs every year around mid-August. The phenomenon is a result of Earth passing through debris — bits of ice and rock — left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle, which last passed close to Earth in 1992, according to Space.com.

Those who watched the sky over Romania on the night of Monday to Tuesday, August 13, were treated not only to a meteor shower but also to a spectacle of fascinating colors. The Perseids came with the brightest, and most numerous blue meteors, according to Don Pollacco from the University of Warwick.

The meteor shower was seen from across Romania. In some parts of the country, however, the phenomenon was much more spectacular, where the Perseids' display was enhanced by the appearance of an aurora borealis. The sky, colored in shades of purple and pink, could be observed from Timiș, Maramureș, Argeș, or Gorj, but also from the northern parts of the country.

The aurora borealis appeared due to a severe geomagnetic storm that is occurring these days. This caused the phenomenon, typically seen in northern countries, to appear at lower latitudes in Europe, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and even Romania, according to Observator News.

(Photo source: VAlexandru | Dreamstime.com)