A new type of aurora called 'the dunes' discovered by aurora chasers in Finland is helping scientists better understand a mysterious layer of Earth's atmosphere.
“There are all kinds of things that happen in an aurora that are signs of what is happening in outer space,” said Minna Palmroth, a space physicist at the University of Helsinki and lead author of a study published Tuesday in theAuroras occur when electrons ejected from the sun bombard Earth’s magnetic field and interact with gases in the planet’s atmosphere to create the stunning green, purple, red and blue lights of the northern and southern lights.
The researchers think the dunes may get their appearance from so-called atmospheric waves in a layer of the Earth’s upper atmosphere, 50 to 75 miles above the surface. It’s a region of the atmosphere that is not well studied, but Palmroth said the dunes could offer some unique insights. Palmroth thinks this slice of the atmosphere, which encompasses the boundary between the planet’s atmosphere and the cosmos beyond, is hypersensitive to changes in solar activity. Energy transferred in this part of the atmosphere when charged particles collide with atmospheric oxygen could explain why the dunes behave differently from other auroras.
Palmroth, who published a guidebook in October 2018 for aurora enthusiasts, said she was first alerted to the existence of the dunes by amateur skywatchers across Finland. Though she has not witnessed the dunes herself, she worked closely with seasoned aurora photographers to study the light displays.
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