New Delhi: The streaking green lights of the Aurora Borealis, generally reserved for Nordic countries, may be visible in parts of India on Monday night due to a massive solar storm hitting the Earth today.
The vibrant, wave-like coloured lights are likely to be seen from the heights of the Himalayas in Uttarakhand, parts of Kashmir, and the Pangong Tso lake and Hanle regions of Ladakh tonight.
Triggered by a solar storm, magnetised plasma has been steadily moving toward the Earth for the past two days, and as it finally collides with the atmosphere, the sky is expected to glow green and crimson. The lights are expected to peak between 11:30 pm on 8 June and 2:30 am on 9 June.
Following alerts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), several photographers are ready to capture the lights.
The science behind it is straightforward. Solar storms release electrically charged particles called ions. While most of these particles disperse into space, some of them get caught in the Earth’s magnetic field. When these ions collide with oxygen and nitrogen in the sky, the energy that is released leads to a glowing light.
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Dangerous lights
While the lights may seem harmless, solar storms can interfere with communications systems globally, like they once did in September 1859. As a powerful solar storm collided with the Earth, the newly built telegraph lines shorted out across Europe and the Americas.
For several years, the impact of strong solar storms was restricted to such communication mishaps. But as technology embedded itself deeper into human lives, the impact of such disturbances also grew more serious.
In May 1967, when Soviets and the Americans were poised to decimate one another with nuclear missiles, a series of violent solar flares disrupted American radar stations in Alaska, Greenland, and England. Air Force officers were convinced that the Soviets were behind the radar blackout and that the USSR was probably preparing to launch a nuclear attack.
American bombers were just getting ready and armed to retaliate when weather forecasters saved the day by explaining that it was just a solar storm that had jammed their radar.
Recently, in 2024, one of the most intense solar storms hit the Earth’s atmosphere. Along with stunning auroras across the world, it left a significant impact on GPS satellites and power grids.
(Edited by Ratan Priya)