Leh: Auroras, which is described as the ‘greatest light show’ on Earth struck Ladakh skies. The Indian Astronomical Observatory above Mount Saraswati captured the rare phenomenon. This was the first time that the aurora was captured on camera in India by the Indian Astronomical Observatory. The 360-degree camera atop the IAO in Ladakh Hanle captured the rare phenomenon.
The auroras are normally seen at higher altitudes in parts of Alaska, Norway, and other countries. The Northern Lights or the Aurora Borealis occurs in Arctic region and the Southern Lights or Aurora Australis occurs in the Antarctic region. The Northern Lights and Southern Lights are a natural light display and are caused by particles from the sun that enter the Earth’s atmosphere and collide with gas particles, such as oxygen and nitrogen.
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The aurora in Ladakh was captured on April 22-23 night after a coronal mass ejection was hurtled from the Sun on April 21. ‘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,’ said Indian Institute of Astrophysics.
#Aurora from #Ladakh!
This is a time-lapse of the sky taken by a 360 deg camera at 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 aurora at such a low latitude! @dstindia (1/n) pic.twitter.com/gGbrw86vsb— IIAstrophysics (@IIABengaluru) April 29, 2023
As per the IAO, the auroras coming to lower-than-usual latitudes overnight have led to rare sightings from Europe, China, and Ladakh in India. According to them, such a severe geomagnetic storm last occurred in 2015.
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