Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: TOI
Context: The Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bengaluru recently captured a rare occurrence of aurora in Ladakh, India, on camera. This is the first time that such an occurrence has been witnessed in Ladakh
About Aurora:
| Feature | Description | |
| Auroras, also known as polar lights, are a natural phenomenon that occurs in the high-latitude regions of the Earth’s atmosphere, particularly in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. | ||
| Cause | Auroras occur when charged particles from the Sun collide with gases in the Earth’s atmosphere, producing a display of light in various colours, shapes, and patterns in the high-latitude regions of the Earth. |  |
| Location | High-latitude regions (Arctic and Antarctic) | |
| Colour | Milky greenish (can also show red, blue, violet, pink, and white) | |
| North Pole | Aurora Borealis/Northern Lights are visible from the US (Alaska), Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden & Finland. | |
| South Pole | Aurora Australis/Southern Lights visible from Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand & Australia. | |
| Other planets | Auroras can occur on other planets if they have an atmosphere and magnetic field. Recently, discrete auroras were observed on Mars by the HOPE spacecraft. | |
