Northern Lights Visible In India Too: Ladakh Witnesses Rare Spectacle As Aurora Borealis Illuminates Sky

From UK and Europe to regions in the US, Canada, and Australia, eyes turned skyward in awe as the Northern Lights painted the night with shades of purple, pink, and green. This mesmerising display was sparked by a powerful solar storm last Friday. A fortunate few in India also beheld the spectacle, with Ladakh being the privileged state to witness this breathtaking phenomenon.

Rare spectacle: Northern Lights in India

According to the Indian Astronomical Observatory, the Northern Lights, also known as the aurora borealis, was seen in Ladakh, India, on May 11th.?

Also read:?Strongest Solar Storm In 19 Years Ignites Spectacular Northern Lights Show Across US And Europe

This is a rare event because the aurora borealis is usually only visible in high-latitude regions near the North and South Poles.

PTI

Despite Ladakh being at mid-latitudes, it experienced a severe (G4) Geomagnetic storm according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center.

This was the first time the Northern Lights were captured on camera in Ladakh's Hanle region above Mount Saraswati. The auroral red arc appeared around 1 a.m. on May 11th and is expected to continue throughout the weekend due to more solar activity.

The Indian Astronomical Observatory mentions that seeing the aurora borealis in India is rare. However, a similar event occurred last year in Ladakh on April 22-23, 2023, attributed to a coronal mass ejection on April 21st.

The Northern Lights: How do they occur?

The Northern Lights occur when particles from the sun collide with gases in the Earth's atmosphere.?

These collisions create bursts of light, often in colors like green, purple, and pink. This natural phenomenon mostly occurs in high-latitude regions near the North Pole, such as Scandinavia, Canada, and Alaska, where the Earth's magnetic field guides the solar particles towards the poles.

NASA

The solar storms that cause the auroras can sometimes disrupt technology and communication systems, such as satellites and power grids.?

When these storms are particularly strong, they can interfere with electronics and cause power outages.?

However, the Earth's atmosphere protects us from the harmful effects of the solar particles that create the Northern Lights.