Solar storm ‘smashes hole’ in Earth’s magnetic field producing bright pink light display
A GEOMAGNETIC storm opened a hole in Earth’s magnetic field last week causing an explosion of pink auroras across the Arctic Circle sky.
The minor G1-class solar geomagnetic storm smashed into Earth on November 3, leaving the planet’s magnetic field “unsettled,” spaceweather.com reported.
The outlet – which tracks near-Asteroid encounters, solar winds, eclipses, and auroras – revealed that the storm lasted for more than six hours and caused a “crack” to open in the magnetic field, allowing solar wind to enter.
The aftermath of the storm caused some of the “most intense pink auroras” at least one local has ever seen in Tromsø, Norway – which is known for its vivid views of the Northern Lights.
“I have been guiding aurora tours full time for the past decade, leading more than 1000 tours,” Markus Varik told spaceweather.com.
“I thought I had seen it all.”
Varik said that he and a tour headed out to chase the lights early on November 2 when they came across “a surprise.”
“These were the most intense pink auroras I have ever seen,” Varik said.
“The pink color was bright and obvious to the naked eye. My entire group was stunned.”
Auroras – which most commonly appear green and blue – are caused by highly energetic particles from the Sun entering the Earth’s magnetic field and interacting with atmospheric gasses, according to NASA.
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When the particles collide with oxygen atoms, the auroras give off a green hue, while nitrogen atoms make the auroras appear more purple.
These fantastic light displays are generally only seen near the Arctic Circle in the Northern Hemisphere and the Antarctic Circle in the Southern Hemisphere.
Typically, the Northern Lights are most commonly spotted from September until April.
Countries like Norway, Canada, and Iceland are popular destinations to view the lights.