Low-latitude sightings of colorful hues in the sky likely to have been auroras indicate powerful geomagnetic storms buffeted Earth when some old chronicles were written, researchers report.
aurorae
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Polar Interlopers in the Aurora
A new study suggests that poleward boundary intensifications in the aurora are caused by fast flows of plasma from the poles into the auroral oval.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Retracing the First Spaceborne Electric Field Measurement
Fifty years ago, a sounding rocket made history by taking the first measurement of an electric field in space. What techniques were used to capture this data?
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Jupiter's Auroras Recharge Between Solar Storms
New research suggests that Jupiter's magnetic field replenishes its stock of plasma during lulls in solar activity, creating spectacular displays when a solar storm hits.
Posted inFeatures
The Geomagnetic Blitz of September 1941
Seventy-five years ago next week, a massive geomagnetic storm disrupted electrical power, interrupted radio broadcasts, and illuminated the night sky in a World War II battle theater.
Posted inScience Updates
Aurorasaurus Puts Thousands More Eyes on the Sky
Citizen scientists share real-time auroral sightings to advance research.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Hubble Gazes at Europa's Aurora
Scientists get their best glimpse yet of the shimmering phenomena on one of Jupiter's most intriguing moons.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Magnetic Field Pulsations and Aurora Tightly Linked
Mysterious plasma waves from space are generating displays of aurora near Earth's poles.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Makes Jupiter's Aurora Pulse?
The aurora crowning Jupiter's poles—the most powerful in the solar system—flares up when plasma is injected into its magnetic field.
Posted inFeatures
Aurora Painting Pays Tribute to Civil War's End
Frederic Edwin Church's 1865 arctic landscape, Aurora Borealis, is a beautiful depiction of nature. It might also be a memorial reflection on the end of the war.