From Amsterdam to Zeeland: catch the Northern Lights in all their glory (photos inside!)

On Monday night, the Northern Lights were visible from various locations in the Netherlands, including Groningen, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Nuenen, and others. 

Missed the spectacle? Luckily for you, photographers from across the country managed to capture the stunning noorderlicht (Northern Lights) on film:

Couples enjoying the light show were also spotted! 😉

Groningen was also graced with the glow of the sun’s particles…

Moving on to the centre of the country, Utrecht caught a glimpse too! We might not have a skyline, but talk about this balcony view.

There was a full blast of light in Nijmegen, the Netherlands’ Eastern docklands.

Genieten van een intense noorderlichtshow! De kleuren waren opvallend fel: een 'dansende' groene band hing zelfs helemaal richting het zuiden. Ook tof om te zien dat zoveel mensen het #noorderlicht nu een keer zelf konden spotten 🌌

Mijn eerste foto rond 22.20u vlakbij Nijmegen: pic.twitter.com/wIU1JpkuzP

— Wouter van Bernebeek (@StormchaserNL) January 20, 2026

A little horsie in the south of the Netherlands, in Den Bosch, saw it too.

And further down south (not Australia, although they had their own “Southern Lights”), the noorderlicht shone in Zeeland too!

There you have it, folks: now you’ve seen the Northern Lights from all angles and latitudes of the Netherlands.

Why are we able to see these lights?

People travel from across the globe to Scandinavia to cross a major item off their bucket lists: witnessing the Northern Lights.

Generally, the closer you are to the North Pole, the better your chances: this is because Earth’s magnetic field acts as a funnel, directing solar particles toward the poles.

So, why are we seeing them as far south as the Netherlands? Is the apocalypse upon us? Not quite.

During periods of intense solar activity, such as strong solar flares, these charged particles travel much further from the poles than usual, painting our skies with eerie glows of green and red.

When to catch them next

For many, the spectacle was almost too faint for the naked eye, but showed up more vividly on camera.

Want to see the Aurora Borealis behind your own lens?

With a little bit of luck and a clear night, you could catch the Northern Lights over the Netherlands tonight and tomorrow, as an unexpected geomagnetic storm sends stronger-than-usual solar winds toward Earth.

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