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Scientists using NASA's
Polar spacecraft have captured the first-ever movie
of auroras
dancing simultaneously around both of Earth's polar regions.
During a space weather storm on October 22, 2001, Polar's
Visible Imaging System
observed the aurora borealis and aurora
australis (northern and southern lights)
expanding and
brightening in parallel at opposite ends of the world.
The
images confirm the three-century old theory that auroras in the
northern
and southern hemispheres are nearly mirror images --
conjugates - of each other.
"This is the first time that we have
seen both auroral ovals simultaneously with such clarity,"
says
Dr. Nicola Fox, the science operations manager for the Polar
spacecraft,
based at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
"With
these images, we have the ability to see the dynamics of
conjugate auroras."
REUTERS/NASA-Handout
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