“Impossible” orange auroras were spotted in Scottish skies during a geomagnetic storm on November 25. This was reported by Live Science.
An unusual orange glow was previously reported following a geomagnetic storm on October 19. Auroras occur when high-energy particles of wind energy excite gas molecules in the upper atmosphere. In this case, excess energy is released in the form of light, the color of which depends on which particles of the magnetosphere interact with solar radiation.
The two most common colors of the aurora are red and green; both are due to the excitement of oxygen molecules at different heights. When solar particles penetrate deep into the atmosphere and excite nitrogen molecules, they can cause rare pink auroras. Theoretically, oxygen and nitrogen molecules can emit weak orange waves under certain conditions. But even if this happens, the unusual color is often hidden behind green and red.
The orange glow in the skies over Scotland was caused by a mixture of red and green. This is only possible if the red and green light bands overlap perfectly, which happens very rarely.
Previously residents of the Moscow region saw Northern Lights.