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Science

Judi Lynn

(160,545 posts) Wed Jan 31, 2024, 10:48 AM Jan 31

65

Photographer snaps extremely rare 'aurora curls' after magnetic wave rings Earth's atmosphere 'like a bell'

By Harry Baker published about 20 hours ago

Ethereal green "aurora curls" were photographed in the night sky over Iceland after a gust of solar wind vibrated Earth's magnetic shield like a plucked guitar string. The phenomenon is extremely rare.

A streak of green light in the night sky with ripples running through the middle
Aurora curls are a phenomenon caused by vibrations in the Earth's magnetic field. The luminous squiggles mirror the wavelengths of these magnetic pulsation. (Image credit: Jeff Dai)

A single streak of eerily-perfect, rippling green light recently wobbled through the night sky above Iceland, interrupting an otherwise typical aurora, stunning new photos show. The extremely rare phenomenon is the result of large waves vibrating in Earth's magnetic field that are triggered by solar particles slamming into our planet.

Jeff Dai, an astrophotographer and member of The World at Night (TWAN) project, spotted the zig-zagging light show above Kerid — a crater lake in south Iceland — on Jan. 16, Spaceweather.com reported. The unusual phenomenon, known as aurora curls, lasted for "several minutes" before disappearing completely, Dai wrote on Instagram.

Auroras are created when highly energetic particles from the sun bypass Earth's magnetic field, or magnetosphere, and excite molecules of gas, which give off colored light as a result. Normally, these dancing lights swirl randomly across the night sky with no definite shape or pattern.

Aurora curls are a rare, highly organized version of these lights caused by massive ripples in the magnetosphere, known as ultra-low frequency (ULF) waves. These magnetic tremors are most commonly triggered by a gust of radiation from the sun, known as solar wind, colliding with our planet's protective shield and can cause our atmosphere to "ring like a bell," according to Spaceweather.com.

. . .

More:
https://www.livescience.com/space/the-sun/photographer-snaps-extremely-rare-aurora-curls-after-magnetic-wave-rings-earths-atmosphere-like-a-bell

17 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

Photographer snaps extremely rare 'aurora curls' after magnetic wave rings Earth's atmosphere 'like a bell' (Original Post) Judi Lynn Jan 31 OP

So cool to see this stuff. Thanks. cachukis Jan 31 #1

Judi lynn posts the cool stuff Fullduplexxx Jan 31 #2

KNR. As always, thank you for these fascinating finds. niyad Jan 31 #3

ohh . ahhh. great capture . AllaN01Bear Jan 31 #4

Magic! Easterncedar Jan 31 #5

WHAT'S THAT IN THE NIGHT SKY? PHOTOGRAPHER CAPTURES RARE, PERPLEXING PHENOMENON IN STRIKING NEW IMAGES Judi Lynn Jan 31 #6

Mesmerizing. Abigail_Adams Jan 31 #7

visually and mentally stunning nt et tu Jan 31 #8

it's a glitch in the matrix Renew Deal Jan 31 #9

Beautiful and amazing. StarryNite Jan 31 #10

Thanks again Judi ...always learning from your posts. MiHale Jan 31 #11

'aurora curls', magnetic wave rings, 'like a bell'.........? jaxexpat Jan 31 #12

The markodochartaigh Jan 31 #13

And I am addicted to curls. GreenWave Jan 31 #14

Just astonishing! calimary Jan 31 #15

Almost like the a deep baratone frequency slowed down to see these waves ... aggiesal Jan 31 #16

Thanks, Judi! Duppers Jan 31 #17

cachukis

(2,246 posts)

1. So cool to see this stuff. Thanks.

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 10:56 AM

Jan 31

Fullduplexxx

(7,864 posts)

2. Judi lynn posts the cool stuff

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 11:01 AM

Jan 31

niyad

(113,343 posts)

3. KNR. As always, thank you for these fascinating finds.

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 11:04 AM

Jan 31

AllaN01Bear

(18,261 posts)

4. ohh . ahhh. great capture .

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 11:04 AM

Jan 31

Easterncedar

(2,298 posts)

5. Magic!

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 11:41 AM

Jan 31

And science. Perfect.

Judi Lynn

(160,545 posts)

6. WHAT'S THAT IN THE NIGHT SKY? PHOTOGRAPHER CAPTURES RARE, PERPLEXING PHENOMENON IN STRIKING NEW IMAGES

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 11:49 AM

Jan 31

MICAH HANKS·JANUARY 31, 2024

A rare natural electrical phenomenon was recently captured in images of the night sky over Iceland’s Kerid Crater.

Photographer Jeff Dai, a resident of China who is currently traveling in Iceland, observed an unusual rippling motion within the green bands of the aurora borealis on January 16, 2024.

The phenomenon sparked his curiosity, and Dai went for his camera.

“I captured this rare image of ‘aurora curls’,” Dai said. “They rippled across the zenith for several minutes.”

Dai’s amazing imagery was subsequently featured at spaceweather.com, the long-running online provider of information about the Sun-Earth environment.

Reaching out to Xing-Yu Li, a scientist with Peking University’s Institute of Space Physics and Applied Technology, Dai learned that the phenomenon he managed to photograph occurs when the Earth’s magnetic field vibrates, the wavelengths of which become visible as “ripples” during auroral displays like the one he photographed earlier this month.

The photographs reveal a rare physical manifestation of the phenomenon, which is normally only viewed in data collected by instrumentation used to monitor our planet’s magnetosphere.

More:
https://thedebrief.org/whats-that-in-the-night-sky-photographer-captures-rare-perplexing-phenomenon-in-striking-new-images/

Abigail_Adams

(304 posts)

7. Mesmerizing.

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 12:11 PM

Jan 31

Thanks for posting!

et tu

(878 posts)

8. visually and mentally stunning nt

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 12:15 PM

Jan 31

Renew Deal

(81,861 posts)

9. it's a glitch in the matrix

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 12:28 PM

Jan 31

StarryNite

(9,446 posts)

10. Beautiful and amazing.

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 12:32 PM

Jan 31

MiHale

(9,734 posts)

11. Thanks again Judi ...always learning from your posts.

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 12:34 PM

Jan 31

jaxexpat

(6,833 posts)

12. 'aurora curls', magnetic wave rings, 'like a bell'.........?

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 12:42 PM

Jan 31

This sounds like a fishing lure technology my uncle would invent to haul in the "big ones".

markodochartaigh

(1,138 posts)

13. The

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 01:01 PM

Jan 31

G(eo) string

GreenWave

(6,759 posts)

14. And I am addicted to curls.

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 01:07 PM

Jan 31

and then some

calimary

(81,320 posts)

15. Just astonishing!

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 01:15 PM

Jan 31

Aurora curls.

My mind is blown.

aggiesal

(8,918 posts)

16. Almost like the a deep baratone frequency slowed down to see these waves ...

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 01:22 PM

Jan 31

while the other frequencies are too high to see each individual wave.

Very cool stuff.

Duppers

(28,125 posts)

17. Thanks, Judi!

Reply to Judi Lynn (Original post)

Wed Jan 31, 2024, 01:48 PM

Jan 31

Sharing this one, especially since we all like seeing visuals.

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