On November 3rd, a temporary disruption in Earth’s magnetic field triggered the occurrence of rare pink auroras in the northern skies of Norway.
Auroras primarily result from the solar wind, wherein charged energetic particles emitted by the Sun infiltrate the magnetosphere, which is Earth’s magnetic field that typically deflects cosmic rays. However, at the polar regions, the magnetosphere is less robust than in other areas, permitting solar wind particles to enter the atmosphere.
Typically, they do not ascend to great heights, generally attaining an altitude abundant in oxygen atoms that become ionized and excited by charged particles from the Sun, resulting in a characteristic green emission. However, during this particular instance, a powerful solar storm disrupted the magnetosphere, allowing solar particles to penetrate more deeply than usual, reaching the nitrogen atoms situated at lower altitudes. Consequently, these nitrogen atoms produce a pink luminescence.
A tour group, guided by Markus Varik, a northern lights tour guide from the Greenlander tour company located near Tromsø, Norway, observed the unusual phenomenon. According to Varik, the brilliant auroras appeared at approximately 6 p.m. local time and persisted for about 2 minutes, as he communicated to Live Science through email.
“These were the strongest pink auroras I have seen in more than a decade of leading tours,” Varik said. “It was a humbling experience.”
The crack in Earth’s magnetosphere also allowed strong green auroras to appear throughout the night, Varik added.
The gap in the magnetosphere was sealed approximately six hours after its initial formation. Concurrently, an unusual ribbon of blue light appeared in the skies over Lake Tornetrask in Sweden, remaining stationary for roughly 30 minutes, as reported by Spaceweather.com. This phenomenon was documented by photographer Claudio Comi, who is employed by a different tour operator in Swedish Lapland.
Experts remain uncertain whether the unusual blue ribbon was a previously unobserved type of aurora resulting from a breach in the magnetosphere or if it stemmed from an alternative source. One specialist proposed that it might consist of frozen fuel from a Russian rocket; however, Spaceweather.com reported that no rockets were detected in the vicinity on that particular day.