Northern Lights visible in India? Aurora borealis may glitter tonight in this state

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ALSO READ: Northern lights seen across Europe! Strongest solar storm in 20 years brings auroras. See spectacular photos Also known as the Northern Lights, the aurora borealis was visible from Ladakh at 34-36°N, an incredibly rare sight at such low latitudes.

According to reports, the auroral red arc emerged in Ladakh's Hanle region on May 11 at around 1 a.m. The phenomenon is expected to continue through the weekend in Ladakh as additional coronal mass ejections enter Earth's outer atmosphere.

As per the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Space Weather Prediction Center, the occurrence of a severe (G4) Geomagnetic storm, classified as G4 on NOAA's scale, took place in Ladakh despite it being located at mid-latitudes. ALSO READ: Northern lights dazzle over UK, Europe, skywatchers say, ‘Get a load of this aurora borealis’ This aurora was earlier visible in Ladakh during the night of April 22-23, 2023, which experts cite as a result of a coronal mass ejection on April 21.

This ejection triggered a G-4 class geomagnetic storm on Earth. Apart from Ladakh, the aurora borealis were also visible across parts of Europe and China.

The arcs formed were not like traditional auroras that display a variety of colours in dynamic patterns, but they had a a fixed colour and it was reddish. Explaining the phenomenon, Scientific Officer of Institute for Plasma Research Centre Dr Ravi A V Kumar said, as quoted by news agency ANI, "Solar Flares are very common, it happens all the time...It happens when the sun gets to the peak of its activity of 11-year circle...After every 11 years, the activity of the sun goes from high to low and in 2025 the activity is going to be at its peak...The chance of solar flares coming out