In the late evening of Friday, May 10, and Saturday, reddish-hued aurora lights were visible beneath Ladakh’s stunning skies. The Indian Astronomical Observatory (IAO) in Hanle, Ladakh, has all-sky cameras surrounding it that the astronomers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru (IIA) used to record the auroras.

The aurora borealis, referred to as the Northern Lights, was observable from Ladakh at 34–36°N, an exceptionally uncommon sight at such low latitudes. The phenomenon in Ladakh is anticipated to persist throughout the weekend as more coronal mass ejections penetrate Earth’s outer atmosphere. 

These cameras are installed on IAO, owned and run by the IIA, and can continuously image the sky. It demonstrated that space activity continued from Saturday night at midnight until the early hours of the following day, with the highest activity being recorded at two in the morning.

What are Aurora Lights? 

The Earth’s magnetosphere and charged solar winds interact actively in space to form auroras, which are vivid, colourful lights. Solar winds are charged particles ejected from the Sun’s atmosphere, and they are primarily made up of protons and electrons.

Given that Ladakh is located at mid-latitudes, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center reports that a severe (G4) Geomagnetic storm occurred there. Experts attribute this aurora’s earlier sighting in Ladakh on the night of April 22–23, 2023, to a coronal mass ejection on April 21. On Earth, this ejection caused a geomagnetic storm of the G-4 class. 

The aurora borealis can be seen in parts of China, Europe, and Ladakh. Unlike traditional auroras, which display various colours in dynamic patterns, the arcs formed were reddish and fixed in colour. 

Why were auroras visible from Ladakh?

It has to do with increased space solar flare activity. According to solar physicists at the Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER) in Kolkata, where the Centre of Excellence in Space Science India is located, at least four powerful solar storms crossed Earth between Friday and Saturday.

Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs), which are massive outbursts of plasma and magnetic particles from the Sun’s corona, the outermost region of its atmosphere, were the cause of these storms. On May 8, these CMEs left AR13664, which is presently an active region on the Sun.

The Earth-bound CMEs, which were travelling at 700 km/second, disrupted the otherwise calm space weather on May 10 and 11, when they got closest to the planet’s atmosphere. When solar flares struck the Earth, their speed was 815 km/s.

What is the Sun’s current state?

The visible solar disk displays several magnetically active regions generating numerous high-energy flares. Until May 12, many CMEs are expected to approach Earth. For the next two days, persistent solar storms will likely disrupt space weather and Earth’s magnetosphere.

Do solar storms pose a threat?

Strong solar storms can potentially disrupt and jeopardise the uninterrupted functioning of satellites in Low Earth Orbit, or LEO, which is an altitude of 200–1,600 km.  The most popular low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites serve various functions, including communications, navigation, military use, and intelligence gathering. Thus, solar storms may threaten Earth’s satellite-based GPS and navigation systems, among other things.

These solar storms’ extremely energetic particle environment has the potential to warm the upper atmosphere as well. This raises the possibility of radiation risks, which disadvantage satellites in low Earth orbit. If there is too much drag, the satellites may experience unbearable friction, which, in severe circumstances, may catch fire and destroy the spacecraft, ending their operations.