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Auroras in Ladakh: Astronomers reveal how solar blast lit up Indian skies

Auroras in Ladakh: Astronomers reveal how solar blast lit up Indian skies

India Today16-07-2025
In May 2024, the remote Himalayan skies over Ladakh were unexpectedly painted with a rare celestial display, northern lights, or auroras, typically only visible much closer to the poles.Now, over a year later, astronomers from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have unveiled the remarkable chain of events that triggered this rare spectacle: a record-breaking solar storm caused by six massive, interacting Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) erupting from the Sun in quick succession.advertisementCMEs are enormous bubbles of magnetised plasma hurled from the Sun's outer atmosphere. When such solar eruptions are directed toward Earth, they can trigger intense geomagnetic storms, capable of disrupting satellites, communication systems, and even power grids. But the event of May 10, 2024, was unlike anything seen in the past two decades.
'This was a unique sequence of six interacting CMEs, associated with solar flares and filament eruptions, all originating from a hyperactive region on the Sun,' explained Dr. Wageesh Mishra, a faculty member at IIA.Using data from space-based observatories run by NASA and ESA, scientists at IIA's Indian Astronomical Observatory in Hanle, Ladakh, developed advanced models to trace both the path and thermal behavior of these solar storms as they travelled across the solar system.Their study, published in Astronomy and Astrophysics, provides the first continuous thermal profile of multiple interacting solar blasts.Lead author and doctoral scholar Soumyaranjan Khuntia explained, 'Initially, the CMEs released heat, but as they travelled further, they began to absorb and retain heat, settling into a nearly constant temperature state—a surprising and complex behaviour.' Closer to Earth, instruments like NASA's Wind spacecraft detected another anomaly: the final solar cloud carried twin magnetic structures, or 'double flux ropes,' resembling twisted braids of magnetic fields. These interacted in unusual ways, giving rise to the captivating auroras seen in Ladakh.'This work lays the foundation for a new frontier in space weather forecasting,' added Anjali Agarwal, a co-author of the study. With India's Aditya-L1 solar mission now operational, the team hopes to further refine their models using close-range solar data and observations closer to Earth.According to Dr. Mishra, 'India is well on its way to becoming a powerhouse in heliophysics research, helping us prepare for and predict future space weather disturbances that can affect Earth's technology and daily life.'- EndsTrending Reel
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