Ellusive aurora found near New Zealand
AUG 16, 2010
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.024587
New Zealand Herald : Using a wide-field CCD camera at the Mt John University Observatory in New Zealand’s Southern Alps, Steve Smith of Boston University and his collaborators have observed what could be first detection in the Southern Hemisphere of an atmospheric feature known as a stable auroral red arc. SAR arcs arise when fast electrons from the solar winds are funneled toward Earth’s polar regions by the planet’s magnetic field. The electrons excite the oxygen atoms, causing them to emit red light. Unlike other auroral emissions, SAR arcs are too faint for human eyes to see.
© 2010 American Institute of Physics
