European Smile spacecraft captures massive aurora storm on top of Earth
The European-Chinese Smile spacecraft has successfully captured its first ultraviolet images of the northern lights, revealing the full auroral ring around Earth's North Pole. This mission aims to provide continuous, long-duration observations of how solar wind interactions with Earth's magnetic field influence space weather.
Why it matters
Improved monitoring of space weather is critical for protecting global satellite infrastructure, power grids, and astronauts from the potentially damaging effects of solar storms.
A new European-Chinese spacecraft has captured its first ultraviolet view of the northern lights, revealing a glowing ring around Earth's North Pole as the planet's magnetic field responded to a burst of particles from the Sun.The footage was recorded on July 24, just two weeks after the ultraviolet imager aboard the Solar wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer, or Smile, was switched on.Source: ESAIt shows activity in the auroral ring triggered by a disturbance in Earth's magnetic field as solar wind particles rushed towards the planet.The observation is an early glimpse of what Smile was built to study; how Earth's invisible magnetic shield responds to the constantly changing activity of the Sun.NEW WAY TO WATCH NORTHERN LIGHTSAuroras occur when disturbances in Earth's magnetic environment send charged particles towards the polar regions, where they interact with the upper atmosphere and produce the familiar northern and southern lights.What makes Smile different is how…
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