The Cusp Aurora
Movies
- FACEBOOK_720_13514_Cusp_Aurora_from_ground_facebook_720.mp4 (1280x720) [49.5 MB]
- PRORES_B-ROLL_13514_Cusp_Aurora_from_ground_prores_b-roll.mov (1280x720) [346.4 MB]
- TWITTER_720_13514_Cusp_Aurora_from_ground_twitter_720.mp4 (1280x720) [8.0 MB]
- YOUTUBE_1080_13514_Cusp_Aurora_from_ground_youtube_1080.mp4 (1920x1080) [64.2 MB]
- YOUTUBE_1080_13514_Cusp_Aurora_from_ground_youtube_1080.webm (1920x1080) [4.9 MB]
- 13514_Cusp_Aurora_from_ground_Prores.mov (3840x2160) [3.9 GB]
- YOUTUBE_4K_13514_Cusp_Aurora_from_ground_youtube_4k.mp4 (3840x2160) [285.2 MB]
Images
- YOUTUBE_1080_13514_Cusp_Aurora_from_ground_youtube_1080.00888_print.jpg (1024x576) [70.9 KB]
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A conceptual animation showing electrons traveling down Earth's magnetic field lines, colliding into oxygen atoms in Earth's atmosphere and causing oxygen molecules to escape and release red light causing the cusp aurora.
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Animator
- Bailee DesRocher (USRA)
Producers
- Joy Ng (KBRwyle)
- Miles S. Hatfield (Telophase)
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May 9th, 2019
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VISIONS-2 Aurora Imagery
May 7th, 2019
Read moreAurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard on December 6, 2018. A GIF optimized for Twitter. Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard on December 6, 2018.Credit: NASA/Joy Ng Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard on December 4, 2018.Credit: NASA/Joy Ng Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard on December 7, 2018. The green laser in the distance is the Koldewey Aerosol Raman Lidar that measures tiny particles in Earth's atmosphere.Credit: NASA/Joy Ng The cusp aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. It's a type of aurora that appears only during the day. It looks similar to aurora at night but when these iridescent lights appear, a hundred tons of atmosphere escapes into space. Scientists say this is a natural process that will occur over billions of years. Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner The cusp aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. It's a type of aurora that appears only during the day. It looks similar to aurora at night but when these iridescent lights appear, a hundred tons of atmosphere escapes into space. Scientists say this is a natural process that will occur over billions of years. Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: NASA/Chris Pirner Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: Bin Li Aurora in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. Credit: Bin Li For More InformationSee [https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/to-image-leaky-atmosphere-nasa-rocket-team-heads-north](https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2018/to-image-leaky-atmosphere-nasa-rocket-team-heads-north) Related pages
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Nov. 14th, 2019
Read moreWatch this video on the NASA Goddard YouTube channel.Complete transcript available.Music credits: “Journey to the Past”, “New Philosopher”, “Curiosity Cabinet”, “Buzzing Culture”, “Dusk Theories”, “At the Edge of the End” by Laurent Dury [SACEM]; “Strong Voices” by Tom Caffey [ASCAP]; “The Fortune Teller” by Phil Stevens [PRS]; “Shinobi’s Fight” by Benoit Malis [SACEM]; “Spring into Life” by Oliver Worth [PRS] In the tiny Arctic town of Ny-Ålesund, where polar bears outnumber people, winter means three months without sunlight. The unending darkness is ideal for those who seek a strange breed of northern lights, normally obscured by daylight. When these unusual auroras shine, Earth’s atmosphere leaks into space.NASA scientists traveled to Ny-Ålesund to launch rockets through these auroras and witness oxygen particles right in the middle of their escape. Piercing these fleeting auroras, some 300 miles high, would require strategy, patience — and a fair bit of luck. This was NASA’s VISIONS-2 mission, and this is their story.VISIONS-2 was just the first of many. Over the coming months, rocket teams from all over the world will launch rockets into this region as part of the Grand Challenge Initiative—Cusp, an international collaboration to study the mysteries of the polar atmosphere. For More InformationSee [Read more on The Sun Spot Blog](https://blogs.nasa.gov/sunspot/2019/11/14/a-shot-in-the-dark-part-i/) Related pages