Produced by: Tarun Mishra
Auroras dazzled the skies across various regions on Saturday, marking the second consecutive occurrence on May 11, captivating spectators with their celestial display.
This awe-inspiring celestial show, commonly known as "northern lights," occurs due to potent solar storms originating from the sun.
NASA, through a thread on X (formerly Twitter), elucidated the phenomenon, distinguishing between solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) as the primary triggers of auroras.
Solar flares, intense bursts of light, result from abrupt rearrangements in the sun's magnetic fields. On the other hand, coronal mass ejections are massive clouds of solar particles interwoven with magnetic fields that escape from the sun.
While solar flares reach Earth swiftly, taking only about 8 minutes, CMEs may take days to reach our planet. However, upon arrival, they have the potential to ignite auroras, creating mesmerizing light displays.
When CMEs interact with Earth's magnetic field, they release solar particles into near-Earth space, following the planet's magnetic field lines and entering the atmosphere in a ring around the poles, known as the auroral oval.
As incoming particles collide with gases in Earth's atmosphere, they cause the gases to heat up and emit light, resulting in the breathtaking glow of auroras. The colors vary based on the type and altitude of the gases, with oxygen producing red or blue hues and nitrogen emitting green, blue, or pink tones.
Intense and repeated solar eruptions can widen the auroral oval, extending the reach of auroras to lower latitudes. Reports indicate sightings of northern lights as far south as the Bahamas.
From northern Europe to Australia's Tasmania, sky-gazers were treated to stunning auroras, painting the night skies in vivid shades of pink, green, and purple, showcasing the captivating beauty of nature's light show.