Research Reveals Earth’s Asymmetrical Auroras
27.05.2005 - Other
Data collected from two NASA spacecraft, Polar and Image have revealed that Earth's northern and southern auroras are not simply mirror images of one another, as previously believed.
Thanks to observations from the ground and satellites in space, scientists know that the North and South Poles light up at night with Auroras because a "solar wind" of electrified gas continually flows outward from the sun at high speed in all directions, including toward the Earth. Recently, however, NASA and university scientists looking at the Earth's northern and southern auroras were surprised to find they aren't mirror images of each other, as was once thought.
According to scientists, the main cause behind the differences in location appears to be what occurs between the solar wind and Earth's magnetic field. The Earth's magnetic field, like that of the sun and some of the other planets, is generated by electrical currents flowing inside them. The sun's magnetic field, like that of Earth, has a north and south pole linked by lines of magnetic force.
