Rare Pink Aurora Spotted In Earth's Night Skies After A Solar Storm

Extremely rare pink aurorae swarmed the skies above Norway after a solar storm caused a temporary crack in Earth's magnetic field on November 3. When the crack was opened, highly energetic solar particles penetrated deeper into the atmosphere than normal, causing the sky to turn pink.The aurora was spotted by a tour group led by Markus Varik who works for a tour company in Norway, Live Science reported. At 6 pm local time, the light show was spotted by onlookers. Varik claims that the aurorae lasted for 2 minutes.

"These were the strongest pink auroras I have seen in more than a decade of leading tours," Varik said. "It was a humbling experience," he added in conversation with Live Science.

Markus Varik/Greenlander

What led to pink aurorae in the sky?

The Earth's magnetosphere has an invisible magnetic field that is generated by our planet's fluid metal core. It was in this that a crack appeared in the aftermath of a G-1 class solar storm that hit Earth on November 3.

Also read: James Webb Telescopes Captures Breathtaking Auroras On Jupiter

When highly energetic charged particles (solar wind) pass around Earth's magnetosphere, aurorae are formed. This magnetosphere is also responsible for protecting humans from cosmic radiation. This shield is naturally weaker at the poles, allowing solar wind to pass through the atmosphere.

Markus Varik/Greenlander

All this happens about 100-130 kilometres above Earth's surface. Mostly, aurorae appear green, because oxygen atoms emit green when they interact with solar wind.

But this particular aurora was different. It was able to penetrate below 100 kilometres - where nitrogen is abundant, giving the aurorae their pink colour. During night time, green aurorae also appeared throughout the night.

Also read: Astronaut Shares Amazing Fiery Green Earth Aurora Pic From Space Station

Markus Varik/Greenlander

According to Spaceweather.com, the magnetosphere hole closed in 6 hours. At this time, a strange blue light ribbon also appeared in the skies above Sweden.