The Hanle and Merak observatories in Ladakh recently observed an uncommon event in India—detecting a rare red aurora in the night sky. Auroras, luminous sky patterns resulting from solar particles interacting with Earth's magnetic field, are typically visible closer to the poles.
The Hanle observatory successfully captured the lights towards the northern horizon, while the Merak camera's view, situated along Pangong Tso's banks, was hindered by towering mountains. This marks the second aurora event recorded by the Hanle observatory this year, following one on April 23.
Scientists attribute auroras to the interaction between solar flare-released plasma and Earth's magnetic field, with the plasma entering from the poles, where most auroras occur. Despite being less visible in equatorial regions like India, intense events may still be observed. Anticipating an increased number of aurora events over the next two years due to fluctuations in solar flares during the 11-year cycle, scientists note the current ascending phase, expecting more solar flares in the coming year, with the peak likely in 2025.
Hanle, India's sole dark sky reserve, is an ideal location for observing such phenomena, and the recent auroral activity is linked to a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from the Sun's outermost layer, occurring two days before the observation. NASA data confirms the Sun's eruption at 10:15 am (IST) on November 3.
