Sky mysteriously turns pink during day time at North Pole

Skies near the North Pole took on a mysterious pinkish hue as auroras, typically a night spectacle, illuminated the daytime sky.

On December 1st, Marjan Spijkers witnessed this extraordinary event from Svalbard, an archipelago located about 1300 kilometers south of the North Pole, known for its significant population of polar bears.

Svalbard is plunged into the polar night at this time of year, with the sun remaining below the horizon around the clock, creating an extended darkness that allows for the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, to be visible even at noon.

Spijkers, who clicks Norther Lights, captured the phenomenon, where the faint daylight mingled with the auroras, painting the sky in unusual colors that are rarely seen during the day.

This occurrence coincides with the growth of sunspot AR3513, which has been actively producing M-class solar flares. As the sunspot turns toward Earth later in the week, these explosions are expected to become geoeffective, potentially enhancing auroral activity.

The daytime auroras observed by Spijkers are particularly unique because they result from solar particles entering Earth’s atmosphere from the dayside of the magnetosphere, a contrast to the more common nightside auroras.

This rarity adds to the intrigue and beauty of the event, as there have been too few sightings to understand if there is a difference in the auroral displays between the day and night sides of the magnetosphere.

Auroras are caused by the interaction of charged particles from the sun with molecules in Earth’s atmosphere, leading to the mesmerizing light shows primarily seen in high-latitude regions.

While auroras are a common occurrence in the polar regions, witnessing them during the daytime is an exceptional experience that underscores the dynamic and ever-changing nature of our planet’s relationship with the sun.