Space Hurricane Makes Surprising Stunning Pink Auroras in Norway

A pink aurora was visible over Tromso, Norway, on December 10 night. A magnetic substorm caused this breathtaking aerial spectacle.

Pink auroras, as opposed to the more often seen green auroras, are created when powerful space particles impact nitrogen molecules at 100 km or less.

(Photo : JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP via Getty Images)
Northern lights (aurora borealis) illuminate the sky over Reinfjorden in Reine, on Lofoten Islands, Arctic Circle, on September 8, 2017.

Geomagnetic Storms More Frequent As Auroras Show

As the Sun reaches the culmination of its solar cycle, solar flares and geomagnetic storms are occurring more often lately.

Experts used NASA's Imager for Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) satellite to research auroras up to 2005.

To investigate the electrical circuitry behind the auroras, the space agency has launched the rocket-based project ACES 2 (Aurora Current and Electrodynamics Structures 2).

Geomagnetic Storms

Starting with the most fundamental distinction: although magnetic storms are restricted to the auroral zones, magnetic substorms occur worldwide.

They are also known as auroral substorms. Although reports said they only last a few hours, they happen more frequently.

They are thought to be a typical interaction that happens when solar winds from the Sun interact with the magnetosphere of the Earth.

The height also affects the hue of auroras.

The altitude and the kind of atoms involved determine the hues of auroras.

At lower altitudes, the most common green auroras are produced when charged particles interact with oxygen. Still, at higher altitudes, it results in a crimson light.

Hydrogen and helium atoms, respectively, generate blue and purple auroras. However, this region of the electromagnetic spectrum is invisible to human vision.

ALSO READ: Auroras Can Destroy Earth's Ozone Layer [Study] 

Solar Winds

Solar winds, a flow of electrically charged particles from the Sun, combined with the Earth's magnetic field to produce auroras.

National Geographic said these typically occur 97-1,000 km above the Earth's surface. Active auroras and magnetic storms are often benign, although occasionally, they can interfere with radio and radar communications.

Even communication satellites can be rendered useless by powerful magnetic storms.

What Causes Pink Auroras?

According to the Royal Museum Greenwich, solar particles colliding with nitrogen in Earth's atmosphere cause pink aurora colors. Only then, at around 60 miles (100 km) above the planet's surface, can the charged particle streams, also known as the solar wind, enter Earth's atmosphere more deeply. At higher altitudes of up to 150 miles, the more prevalent greenish auroras created by the interaction of the solar wind with oxygen are visible (240 km).

Space.com said the previous pink aurora shows that startled skywatchers in November emerged after a rather calm geomagnetic storm tore a hole in Earth's magnetic field, letting the solar wind flow into the deeper layers of the atmosphere. It's unclear exactly what led to the show on December 10.

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