Video of ERG (Arase) Spacecraft Observation Revealing the Secret of Pulsating Aurora (VIDEO)

University of Tokyo

Caption

Pulsating aurora, the origin of the blinking patches of light, is now directly observed by the ERG spacecraft. Electrons in the magnetosphere, which usually bounce along the geomagnetic field, are thought to be scattered by chorus waves, resulting in precipitation into the atmosphere. The intermittent bursts of chorus waves cause the pulsations of precipitation and associated auroral illumination. The ERG spacecraft showed that this electron scattering by chorus waves indeed takes place in the magnetosphere.

Credit

2018 ERG science team.

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