Rare Pink and Purple Aurora Lights Up Northeast China 🌌
Have you ever heard of the magical lights called auroras? 🌠 On the night of June 1st, something incredible happened in the skies over northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province. A rare pink and purple aurora danced across the night sky, amazing everyone who saw it! 😮
But how did this beautiful light show happen? It was all thanks to a geomagnetic storm. That’s a big word, but don’t worry—we’ll explain! 😊 A geomagnetic storm is like a space weather event that happens when the sun sends out a burst of energy called a solar flare. This flare happened on May 31st and sent lots of charged particles toward Earth. 🌞➡️🌍
When these charged particles reach Earth, they interact with our planet’s magnetic field. Usually, auroras happen way up north, near the North Pole, around 60 degrees north latitude. But this geomagnetic storm was super strong! 🚀 It pushed the aurora zone southward to around 45 degrees north latitude, which is why people in Heilongjiang Province could see it. 📍
Here’s the cool science part! 👩🔬 When the charged particles enter Earth’s atmosphere, they bump into molecules like nitrogen and oxygen. These collisions create colors in the sky. Nitrogen makes blue and violet light, while oxygen gives off red light. When these colors mix together, we get that dreamy pink and purple glow! 🌈
The cities of Jiamusi and Heihe in Heilongjiang Province were lucky enough to witness this rare and beautiful aurora display. Can you imagine looking up and seeing the sky painted with pink and purple lights? 🌌 It’s like a scene from a fairy tale!
This event reminds us how amazing and dynamic our universe is. Next time you look up at the night sky, think about all the incredible things happening out there! ✨
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
