Jaw-Dropping: Auroras Light Up The Skies Over Ladakh During Rare Geomagnetic Event
Ladakh, known for its beautiful landscapes and clear night skies, witnessed a rare and mesmerising natural phenomenon one night in April.?A never-before-seen aurora display illuminated the skies as a powerful geomagnetic storm hit Earth.
The aurora borealis, or northern lights, are caused by charged particles from the sun colliding with Earth's magnetic field. These collisions create beautiful displays of light and colour but are usually only visible in areas close to the poles.
However, Ladakh was treated to a stunning aurora display that is rarely seen at lower latitudes. The geomagnetic storm, caused by a solar flare, created strong disturbances in the magnetic field and allowed the aurora to be visible as far south as Ladakh.
Locals and tourists alike were left in awe as they watched the sky come alive with vibrant shades of green, pink, and purple. Many took to social media to share their photos and videos of the rare event.
Ladakh's Aurora Display Leaves Spectators Awestruck As Geomagnetic Storm Strikes Earth??
The video was shared by IIAstrophysics on their Twitter handle with the caption, "#Aurora from #Ladakh! This is a time-lapse of the sky taken by a 360 deg camera from #Hanle on 22/23 April night. You can see the aurora lights due to an intense geomagnetic storm that hit the Earth. It is extremely rare to see the aurora at such a low latitude! @dstindia (1/n)."
In the Twitter thread, IIAstrophysics stated, "At 11:42 PM on 21 Apr the Sun launched a coronal mass ejection towards the Earth. This CME (speed of 500-600 km/s) was associated with an M1 class solar flare. The CME arrived at Earth late on April 23 at 10 PM, says @wageeshmishra (2/n)."
"This geoeffective CME led to an excellent night for auroral activity. The aurora came to lower-than-usual latitudes overnight leading to rare sightings from? Europe, China & Ladakh in India. Such a severe geomagnetic storm last occurred in 2015 says @wageeshmishra (3/n)."
"For predictions of this storm as well as space weather forecasts for other solar events, check out @cessi_iiserkol Centre for Excellence in Space Sciences India at @iiserkol http://cessi.in (n/n)."
This rare event was caught on camera by the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) over Mount Saraswati on the April 22-23 night over Ladakh.?The spectacular light show in the sky was taken by a 360-degree camera set up at the Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) in Ladakh Hanle.??
The aurora display in Ladakh serves as a reminder of the beauty and power of nature. As climate change and other human activities continue to impact the planet, it is important to appreciate and protect the natural wonders that make our world a unique and special place.
Let's Check Out How The Internet Reacted To It
Since the video is shared on social media it has received over 20.6K views, 108 retweets, 413 likes, and many comments which will leave you in awe.
One person said, "Wow, this is truly amazing! Witnessing the lights is already a once-in-a-lifetime experience, but to see them in such a low latitude is simply mind-blowing! Thanks for sharing this magnificent view of the sky with us!"
Another person said, "This is a little crazy and unbelievable."
Another person stated, "Yes, it is a rare occurrence." It's incredible that it was visible from Ladakh.
If you missed the aurora display in Ladakh, you can still watch it online. Videos and photos of the event have been widely shared on social media, providing a glimpse of the spectacular display that graced the skies of Ladakh.??
What do you think about it? Do let us know in the comments.
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