A recent solar storm placed a hole in the magnetosphere, allowing dangerous solar particles to pass through.
The Sun is in the middle of its 11-year cycle leading to an increase in solar activity and solar output over the past few months. As the Sun continues to enter the crest of the solar cycle, more solar storms will cause geomagnetic storms on the planet. Strong high-mass ejections (CMEs) have been observed emanating from the Sun over the past few days. However, no storm has yet caused a major physical impact like the solar storm that made landfall on Earth on November 3.
According to Live Science, a Sun storm hit Earth on November 3, smashing through Earth’s magnetosphere, which is the magnetic field around the planet. Although the hole in Earth’s magnetic field is temporary, it lasts long enough for dangerous solar particles to pass through and through the planet. This break caused the formation of beautiful rare pink auroras that covered the sky.
This rare phenomenon was discovered by a Northern Lights tour guide named Markus Varik from the Greenlander tour company based near Tromso in Norway. Speaking to Live Science, he said, “These are the most intense pink auroras I’ve seen in over a decade of top travel. It was a humbling experience.”
The breach occurred after a G-1-class solar storm hit The earth on November 3 and lasted for almost 6 hours. Spaceweather.com reported, “The storm lasted more than 6 hours as a crack opened in the Earth’s magnetic field, allowing the solar wind to enter.”
What are Auroras?
The aurora borealis or northern lights are green, blue, and pink-shifting curtains of light that illuminate the night sky at the North and South poles. They are called the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis in the Arctic and the Southern Lights or Aurora Australis in the Antarctic.
Auroras occur at the north and south poles, according to NASA. Sometimes, space weather Interactions with Earth could cause the aurora to extend even further from the poles. These mesmerizing lights constantly change shape and intensity, from dim and scattered, to bright enough that they can be seen for miles.
The Formation of Auroras
Based on NASAwhen a solar storm interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field, it leads to the formation of geomagnetic storm. The solar particles released in this process interact with various gases present in our atmosphere and form the beautiful Auroras that we need to notice, especially from places like Reykjavik in Iceland and Svalbard in Norway.
Scientists study the aurora from various vantage points: below, above, and within. From below, telescopes and radar on the ground look up to see what’s happening in the sky. From above, NASA missions like THEMIS investigate what causes the aurora borealis to change abruptly from slow waves of shimmer to violently moving streaks of color, the space agency said.
