New Delhi: The skies of Ladakh turned red during the night of 11 October, when a severe G4 geomagnetic storm struck the Earth. SPK Rajaguru from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) said, “The current Solar Cycle 25 is at its peak levels of sunspot activity, which is significantly higher than the previous Cycle 24. This ramping up of the dynamo action inside the Sun and the unusual levels of complexity of sunspot magnetic fields in the recent months have set the solar physicists worldwide hastening their efforts to uncover possibly new secrets lurking beneath the Sun’s surface”. The geomagnetic storm was the strongest observed since May this year.
Aurorae captured from Stakna. (Image Credit: Dorje Angchuk, IIA and Stanzin Norlha, BARC).
Photographers from the IIA captured images of the rare event through all-sky cameras in Hanle and Merak. The red emissions were visible throughout the night, and could be seen with the naked eye as well. The geomagnetic storm was caused by a halo coronal mass ejection (CME) that erupted from the Sun on 9 October. This CME consists of hot gas violently flung out from the atmosphere of the Sun that struck the Earth at around 11:30 hours IST on 10 October, with the geomagnetic activity peaking a day later, at 7:30 hours IST on 11 October, with the aurorae being visible at Hanle and Merak.
A rare event
The astronomers present from the IIA in the region were asked to monitor the auroral activity throughout the night. Some researchers even travelled from Leh to Stakna, to observe the auroral activity with more clarity. The Coronal Mass Ejection that caused the geomagnetic storm was also tracked by the Gauribidanur Radio Observatory. Last month, the NOAA and NASA declared that the Sun has reached the solar maximum of the ongoing solar cycle 25, which are well-understood 11 year periods during which solar activity waxes and wanes.
