'Rare night sky phenomenon': Strange red light spotted hovering over Kansas

BURLINGTON (KSNT) - Photos taken by a Burlington, Kansas man of a weird red light in the sky could be part of a rare atmospheric event.

John Kuhlmann took two photos of a reddish-pink light from the Coffey County area on Nov. 7. KSNT 27 News asked Solar System Ambassador Brenda Culbertson with NASA to explain just what the light could be. She said it all comes down to two possible options: an aurora display, Stable Auroral Red (SAR) arcs or Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement (STEVE).

An aurora, also known as the northern lights, appear during strong solar storms. A recent bout of this activity lead to an increased chance for the northern lights making a rare appearance in Kansas. However, Culbertson doubts what was seen in early November was an aurora.

"What we had that night was not actual aurora, but something else," Culbertson said.

During a STEVE event, you might witness a purple-colored ribbon in the sky accompanied by small streaks of green light. This event was given a name by scientists only recently in 2018 and is described as an aurora-like event by NASA. This leaves just one other option for the red light that Kuhlmann spotted.

"SAR arcs were discovered in 1956 at the beginning of the Space Age," Culbertson said. "Researchers didn't know what they were and unwittingly gave them a misleading name: 'Stable Auroral Red arcs' or SAR arcs. In fact, SAR arcs are neither stable nor auroras."

SAR arcs are considered to be separate from typical auroras and displays of the northern lights. A report from NASA shows that this event was seen from locations around the world last month.

"This is what I believe we saw in November, because the red arcs were high in the sky, detached from the horizon or any other colors," Culbertson said. "SAR arcs are not commonly known or seen, so when most people see color, especially red, glowing in the north at night, they usually assume it's from aurora."

NASA describes SAR arcs as "rare night sky phenomenon" that can occur during periods of intense geomagnetic storms. You can learn more about aurora phenomenon on NASA's website by clicking here.

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