An extremely strong solar storm that recently hit Earth prompted a stunning display of colours in various parts of the world, including one of the remotest villages in India, Hanle - located in Ladakh. Some who witnessed the aurora also posted pictures on social media, which has left others mesmerised.
Instagram user Vincent Ledvina shared a video that shows how his curiosity helped him witness the beauty of the aurora in Hanle. “Can’t believe I got this shot all the way from India! This is such a rare occurrence here. I am so stoked! Who saw the aurora last night? We just had the strongest geomagnetic storm in 20 years,” he wrote.
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The video of this photographer and PhD Student is a montage of pictures that show his journey of witnessing this incredible natural phenomenon.
Take a look at this video, which may leave you stunned:
An X user, Stanzin Norla, also gave a glimpse of the night sky from Hanle. His picture shows the entire sky covered in a beautiful rare auroral arc. Compared to the traditional auroras, the auroral arcs are formed differently and remain static while displaying a particular colour.
{{/usCountry}}An X user, Stanzin Norla, also gave a glimpse of the night sky from Hanle. His picture shows the entire sky covered in a beautiful rare auroral arc. Compared to the traditional auroras, the auroral arcs are formed differently and remain static while displaying a particular colour.
{{/usCountry}}“Stable Auroral Red Arcs (SAR arcs) captured from Hanle Dark Sky Reserve, UT Ladakh on 11.05.24 at 0100 hrs. A very rare phenomenon for Mid Latitude like Hanle. Eta Aquarid meteor shower added more beauty to the aurora, visible in the top right of the photo,” Norla wrote while sharing the picture.
Both the posts captured social media users’ interest and left them mesmerised. Many flocked to the comments sections of the post to express the same.
How did social media users react?
“This is fantastic! I tried to see Aurora and went to bed too early. It was visible from Italy, and now I am watching other people's photos,” wrote an Instagram user.
“This is beyond incredible,” posted another.
An X user shared, “People are seeing them as far as Southern California and Nebraska and unbelievable nature spectacle”.
Also Read: Viral pic: Dutch pilot captures ‘turquoise aerial fire’ of Aurora Borealis from cockpit
A fourth added, “This is so extraordinarily beautiful”.
Before the solar storm hit the Earth, the US government issued a severe geomagnetic storm watch for the first time in nearly 20 years. This massive burst of energy in the form of solar flare increased the visibility for the northern lights or aurora borealis in certain parts of the world. According to the Space Weather Prediction Center, the solar storm will continue through the weekend.
What are your thoughts on these pictures of aurora from Ladakh's Hanle?