Ladakh’s Night Skies Glow Red Again As Scientists Capture Rare Auroral Display | India News
Last Updated:January 22, 2026, 21:58 IST This colourful display is triggered by geomagnetic storms emerging from solar activity, which can also impact space instruments, disrupt radio and GPS signals At 3.07 am on the night of January 19/20, from the video from the all-sky camera; (right) 38 minutes after midnight on the intervening night of January 20 and 21 from the video from the all-sky camera, at the Hanle in Ladakh. (Image: Indian Institute of Astrophysics) Ladakh skies lit up again this January. For the sixth time this solar cycle, scientists at India’s astronomical observatory at Hanle have captured deep red auroral activity on January 19 and 20 nights using its all-sky cameras. This auroral display is caused by coronal mass ejections (CME), which are large amounts of plasma and magnetic fields ejected from the sun’s atmosphere – the corona. Some of this can hit Earth in a matter of a few hours or even days and produce geomagnetic storms. Scientists study them because when extreme, these storms can harm space technology, disrupt radio communication …
