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Scientists Find Trigger For Northern Lights

Posted by timothy on from the when-aliens-are-tickled dept.

daftna writes "The New York Times (registration required) is reporting that NASA researchers 'have identified the trigger for the colorful electrical storms in the polar regions ... Scientists knew two events that occur in the tail of the magnetic field during substorms, but did not know which event acted as the trigger for the auroras.'"

7 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. That's great by Centurix · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just don't leave the trigger lying around, anyone could find that and we'd be up to our armpits in borealis...

    --
    Task Mangler
    1. Re:That's great by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      How many times can you pull the trigger before you run out of borealis?

      When you run out, can you switch to australis?

      I know what you're thinking. Did he fire six borealis or only five? Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 aurora, the most powerful light show in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself one question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?

  2. That was quick by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    THEMIS launched in the first half of 2007. I remember because my plasma physics professor canceled class the day of the launch and invited us to the launch party...

    The cause of the aurora borealis is something that has not been adequately explained up to now. It seems that magnetic reconnection phenomena in the tail are the trigger, but where exactly? That's what THEMIS was designed to figure out.

    This is a very interesting result for plasma physicists and astrophysicists.

    http://ds9.ssl.berkeley.edu/themis/flash.html
    http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/themis/main/

  3. Teach the controversy! by UrinalPooper · · Score: 5, Insightful

    If the Dover school board was run by Vikings they'd have to teach this theory alongside the 'theory' that the Northern Lights are the glow from Asgard.

  4. Scientists Find Trigger For Northern Lights by TheCybernator · · Score: 5, Funny

    Yes. And its called the SUN.

    --
    Eclipse PDE and Me
  5. Re:Huh? Dilbert speak from a "scientist" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    A Paradigm is 20 cents.

  6. The result, for those who care... by jnik · · Score: 5, Informative

    It's buried at the end of the article, but Near Earth Neutral Line wins, current disruption loses. The real kicker is that the aurora were detected before the cross-tail current was disrupted, so the auroral currents are apparently not caused by closure of the cross-tail current. That should be very interesting.

    The mission planners had the foresight to include a substantial ground-observation component, which made this second result possible.