Imagine the night sky above Mongolia suddenly turning a deep red colour. This is what happened when a rare event called a blood-red aurora lit up the sky.
Auroras are usually green or blue, but this one was red because it was caused by a strong solar storm.
The solar storm sent charged particles hurtling towards Earth, and when they hit the atmosphere, they made the oxygen molecules glow red.
This only happens at high altitudes, where there is less oxygen.
Northern lights/Aurora borealis today in Mongolia 🇲🇳
— Bileg (@eebileg) December 1, 2023
Aurora appears crimson red when solar particles react with oxygen at high altitudes of over 241 km, where the air is thinner. Red is considered the rarest colour of the Northern Lights.#ТуйлынТуяа #bloodaurora #полярноесияние pic.twitter.com/Sh6sHnPn1O
Red auroras are very rare, and they have only been seen a few times in history.
The one in Mongolia was especially rare because it was so bright and lasted for so long.
Scientists are excited to study the red aurora because it will help them learn more about solar storms and how they affect Earth.
For everyone else, it was a beautiful sight to see.
