Natural phenomena have always fascinated human beings, and one of the most captivating is the Aurora. These stunning light displays appear in the Earth's northern hemisphere, and there have been reports of similar phenomena occurring on other planets in our solar system.
A popular nighttime sight in the northern hemisphere is the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights. It is an amazing and colorful show of light. One can practically observe auroras in the northern sky every night from August through May.
An Awestruck Discovery
Following a two-year investigation into the enigmatic green auroras that surfaced in the Arctic on Christmas Day in 2022, researchers from the United States and Japan have recently determined that the origin of the phenomenon is a solar-directed "rainstorm" of electrons.
This was the first instance of such a rare aurora seen from Earth. This phenomena occurred after a significant decrease in solar wind gusts that had calmed the area surrounding the planet.
How are Auroras Formed?
The Sun sends out charged particles (electrons and protons) into space, known as the solar wind. Earth's magnetic field acts as a shield, redirecting the solar wind around the planet.
As the magnetic field protects us, it gets stretched and then snaps back like a rubber band, sending charged particles toward Earth's surface along the magnetic field lines.
Auroras occurrs when these charged particles collide with gases of the upper atmosphere of the Earth. These collisions create tiny flashes of light that fill the sky with colors. This light works similarly to a neon lamp or an old TV screen. As billions of flashes occur one after another, the auroras seem to move or "dance" in the sky.
The auroras typically pulse and dance in shapes that are easy to see in the sky.
How is Christmas Aurora 2022 Different from Normal Aurora?
The aurora that was observed on December 25-26, 2022, was quite unusual and rare. It was captured by an All-Sky Electron Multiplying Charge-Coupled Device (EMCCD) camera in Longyearbyen, Norway. This aurora was a faint, featureless glow stretching over 2,485 miles (4,000 kilometers). Unlike typical auroras, it had no structure and did not pulse or change brightness. There has never before been an aurora like this seen from Earth.
A team led by Keisuke Hosokawa from the Center for Space Science and Radio Engineering at the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo solved the mystery. They compared the aurora with images taken by the Special Sensor Ultraviolet Scanning Imager (SSUSI) on the polar-orbiting satellites of the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP).
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