Five NASA probes in different Earth orbits have solved the 30-year mystery behind the most colorful aurora displays and the magnetic "substorms" that spawn them.
The THEMIS spacecraft spotted the trigger for the substorms, powerful energy bursts in the planet's magnetic field that can interfere with satellites, power grids and supercharge the aurora borealis, also known as the northern lights.
"We discovered what sparks the magnificent light show of the aurora," said THEMIS principal investigator Vassilis Angelopoulos, a space scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Angelopoulos and his team used the THEMIS probes to monitor the energy levels in Earth's magnetic field. In February of this year, the spacecraft spotted substorms originating in the tail of the magnetosphere that streams out away from the sun. As energy levels in the magnetic field lines built up, they drew ever closer to one another until they reconnected, setting off a storm, researchers said.
For the last three decades, researchers were undecided on whether the substorms stemmed from magnetic field lines reconnecting, or originated much closer to Earth where they were triggered by explosive instability.
"Our data show clearly and for the first time that magnetic reconnection is the trigger," said Angelopoulos.
First discovered in the 19th century, magnetic substorms are recurring energy bursts stemming from the release of charged particles — collected from the sun's solar wind — in the Earth's magnetic field. The high-energy particles zoom down the Earth's magnetic field lines until they collide with the planet's upper atmosphere to create dazzling, shifting colors in the aurora borealis.
Researchers hope that by better understanding the storms, they will be able to prepare for or predict major space weather events before the cosmic tempests interfere with communications or endanger astronauts in Earth orbit.
Source:Xinhua/Agencies
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