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Scientists pinpoint Northern Lights trigger Scientists believe they have solved the 30-year-old mystery about what triggers the beautiful but damaging Northern Lights. The lights, also known as aurora borealis, are substorms that release energy in the Earth's magnetosphere, wreaking havoc on satellites, power grids and communications systems. For the past three decades scientists have had two competing theories to explain what causes these storms to start. But a report published in the journal Science today claims to have found evidence to settle the issue. One theory is that large currents building up in the space environment are suddenly released by an explosive instability. The second theory argues that when two magnetic field lines come close together due to the storage of energy from the sun, a critical limit is reached and the magnetic field lines reconnect, causing magnetic energy to be transformed into kinetic energy and heat. Energy is released, and the plasma is accelerated, producing accelerated electrons. "Our data show clearly and for the first time that magnetic reconnection is the trigger," said Vassilis Angelopoulos, principal investigator of the mission THEMIS - Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms. "Reconnection results in a slingshot acceleration of waves and plasma along magnetic field lines, lighting up the aurora underneath even before the near-Earth space has had a chance to respond. We are providing the evidence that this is happening." The data was able to pinpoint the origin of the space storms. Finding out more information about these storms is vital as scientists need to know when astronauts should go inside their spacecraft and when to turn off critical systems on satellites so they will not be damaged. "Armed with this knowledge, we are not only putting to rest age-old questions about the origin of the spectacular auroral eruptions but will also be able to provide statistics on substorm evolution and model its effects on space weather," Dr Angelopoulos said.  25 July 2008, 00:01 |
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