The northern lights, or aurora, are well known to citizens
of our planet that live near the polar regions. These shimmering curtains
of light have been the source of many fanciful stories told during long
winter nights. Aurora occur when electrons and ions streaming off of the
Sun strike molecules in the Earth's upper atmosphere and cause them to glow
with colors that are characteristic of the molecules themselves. The light
produced by aurorae is usually far too faint to be seen in daylight but
with a cleverly designed camera scientists are now doing just that.
The Ultraviolet Imager (UVI) uses a
specially designed camera to filter out all of the light except that emitted
by the aurorae themselves. The camera and its electronic support package
were manufactured, assembled, and tested at Marshall Space Flight Center
in a joint effort with the University of Alabama, Huntsville and Science
and Engineering Associates in Huntsville. The camera was mounted on the
POLAR spacecraft and launched into orbit on a Delta II rocket on February
24, 1996 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The POLAR satellite
is now orbiting the Earth in a path that takes it from 2 Earth radii out
to 9 Earth radii and back every 18 hours. Ten other instruments are included
on this mission to measure particles and electro-magnetic fields in the
high-latitude polar regions. Dr.
James Spann, a co-investigator for UVI, notes that a prime objective
for the POLAR mission is to provide auroral images that show where energy
is being deposited into the Earth's upper atmosphere and ionosphere.
Aurora
have been seen at nighttime from space by Space Shuttle astronauts. These
ribbons of light seem to rise up out of the Earth's upper atmosphere along
arcs that disappear over the horizon.The electrons and ions that form the
solar wind stream past the Earth at speeds in excess of 1 million miles
per hour. These electrically charged particles get caught in the web of
the Earth's magnetic field and flow down into the atmosphere where the magnetic
field lines enter the Earth. The energy associated with this flow is equivalent
to as much as 100 million kilowatts of energy each day.
The Ultraviolet Imager produces pictures of the aurora that show the footpoints
of these flows even on the daylit side of the planet. From the high vantage
point of the POLAR spacecraft the auroral arcs are seen to form ovals that
encircle each of the Earth's magnetic poles. In the image shown below a
nearly complete auroral oval can be seen even though this image was obtained
near the time of the summer solstice when the entire north polar region
is fully sunlit. The north pole is at the center of the image and the bright
aurora at the bottom is located over northern Alaska. These images will
help to quantify the overall effects of solar energy input to the Earth's
polar regions. Daily images can be viewed at the UVI Picture-of-the-Day
site.
For more information, please contact
Dr. Jim Spann
Code ES83
NASA/Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville AL 35812
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Headlinesreturn to Space Sciences Laboratory Home
Author: David
Hathaway
Curator: Bryan Walls
NASA Official: John M. Horack
last update: June 25, 1996