On Christmas Day 2022 , a highly peculiar morning was seen over an tremendous section of the Arctic sky , the likes of which have never antecedently been maintain from the ground . Known as a polar rain aurora , this prodigious light show was produced by a falls of electrons that give forth from the sun before cascade peacefully over the North Pole .
Typically , auroras consist of dynamic , switch lights that vary shape and color as they dance across the sky . This phenomenon is caused bycharged solar particlesinteracting with the Earth ’s magnetised playing field , before being channeled towards thepoles .
However , the spectacle observed on the dark of December 25 2022 was completely different . For one thing , it was massive , covering an area of around 4,000 kilometer ( 2,500 nautical mile ) . More interestingly , though , it was completely consistent and unchanging , consisting of a smooth , featureless green glow that just hang in the sky without morph or rearranging itself into any shapes .
To detect out what happened , the authors of a fresh study probe data point from the US Defense Department ’s polar - orb satellites . In doing so , they name that the solar wind had overleap to virtually zero at the time of theaurora , which also coincided with the opening of a so - name coronal hole on the sun ’s surface .
As a outcome , high - energy electron were able to flow out of this coronal hole without becoming disperse by the solar wind . These particles - which would commonly be blown from pillar to situation , creating fast - movingaurorae- were therefore capable to gently rain down over the North Pole in a steady stream , creating a all flat aurora .
“ By combining basis - found and planet observations , we prove that this unique aurora was produced by suprathermal negatron streaming directly from the Sun , which is known as “ pivotal rain . ” , ” drop a line the researchers . Until now , this phenomenon had only ever been note from outer space , but had never been seen from the earth .
The subject area authors also calculated that the bedcover of electrons streaming out of the coronal hole would have covered some 7,500 kilometers ( 4,600 mile ) of the sky , which explains why this variant of the Northern Lights was so large .
“ This incredibly smooth and mammoth var. is distinctively dissimilar from that of a typical polar cap aurora , ” explain the researchers . “ Thus , it can not be categorise as any antecedently identified division of aurorae seeable at polar ceiling parallel of latitude . ”
The study has been published in the journalScience Advances .
