Fierce Solar Storm Pelts Earth, Creating Extremely Rare Pink Aurora Borealis

The rare phenomenon was spotted by a tour group led by Markus Varik, a northern lights tour guide from the Greenlander tour company based near Tromsø in Norway. The vibrant auroras emerged at around 6 p.m. local time and lasted for around 2 minutes, Varik told Live Science via email.

“These were the strongest pink auroras I have seen in more than a decade of leading tours,” Varik said. “It was a humbling experience.”

The crack in Earth’s magnetosphere also allowed strong green auroras to appear throughout the night, Varik added.