POST Online Media Lite Edition



 

Mystery of purple lights in sky solved

Staff Writer |
Notanee Bourassa, an IT technician in Regina, Canada, trekked outside of his home on July 25, 2016, around midnight with his two younger children to show them a beautiful moving light display in the sky - an aurora borealis.

Article continues below




He often sky gazes until the early hours of the morning to photograph the aurora with his Nikon camera, but this was his first expedition with his children.

When a thin purple ribbon of light appeared and starting glowing, Bourassa immediately snapped pictures until the light particles disappeared 20 minutes later.

Having watched the northern lights for almost 30 years since he was a teenager, he knew this wasn't an aurora. It was something else.

From 2015 to 2016, citizen scientists - people like Bourassa who are excited about a science field but don't necessarily have a formal educational background - shared 30 reports of these mysterious lights in online forums and with a team of scientists that run a project called Aurorasaurus.

The citizen science project, funded by NASA and the National Science Foundation, tracks the aurora borealis through user-submitted reports and tweets.

The Aurorasaurus team, led by Liz MacDonald, a space scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, conferred to determine the identity of this mysterious phenomenon.

MacDonald and her colleague Eric Donovan at the University of Calgary in Canada talked with the main contributors of these images, amateur photographers in a Facebook group called Alberta Aurora Chasers, which included Bourassa and lead administrator Chris Ratzlaff.

Ratzlaff gave the phenomenon a fun, new name, Steve, and it stuck. But people still didn't know what it was.

Scientists' understanding of Steve changed that night Bourassa snapped his pictures.

Bourassa wasn't the only one observing Steve. Ground-based cameras called all-sky cameras, run by the University of Calgary and University of California, Berkeley, took pictures of large areas of the sky and captured Steve and the auroral display far to the north.

From space, ESA's (the European Space Agency) Swarm satellite just happened to be passing over the exact area at the same time and documented Steve.

For the first time, scientists had ground and satellite views of Steve. Scientists have now learned, despite its ordinary name, that Steve may be an extraordinary puzzle piece in painting a better picture of how Earth's magnetic fields function and interact with charged particles in space.

The findings are published in a study released today in Science Advances.

"This is a light display that we can observe over thousands of kilometers from the ground," said MacDonald. "It corresponds to something happening way out in space. Gathering more data points on STEVE will help us understand more about its behavior and its influence on space weather."

The study highlights one key quality of Steve: Steve is not a normal aurora. Auroras occur globally in an oval shape, last hours and appear primarily in greens, blues and reds.

Citizen science reports showed Steve is purple with a green picket fence structure that waves. It is a line with a beginning and end. People have observed Steve for 20 minutes to 1 hour before it disappears.

If anything, auroras and Steve are different flavors of an ice cream, said MacDonald. They are both created in generally the same way: Charged particles from the Sun interact with Earth's magnetic field lines.

The uniqueness of Steve is in the details. While Steve goes through the same large-scale creation process as an aurora, it travels along different magnetic field lines than the aurora. All-sky cameras showed that Steve appears at much lower latitudes. That means the charged particles that create Steve connect to magnetic field lines that are closer to Earth's equator, hence why Steve is often seen in southern Canada.

Perhaps the biggest surprise about Steve appeared in the satellite data. The data showed that Steve comprises a fast moving stream of extremely hot particles called a sub auroral ion drift, or SAID.

Scientists have studied SAIDs since the 1970s but never knew there was an accompanying visual effect.

The Swarm satellite recorded information on the charged particles' speeds and temperatures, but does not have an imager aboard.

"People have studied a lot of SAIDs, but we never knew it had a visible light. Now our cameras are sensitive enough to pick it up and people's eyes and intellect were critical in noticing its importance," said Donovan, a co-author of the study.

Donovan led the all-sky camera network and his Calgary colleagues lead the electric field instruments on the Swarm satellite.

Steve is an important discovery because of its location in the sub auroral zone, an area of lower latitude than where most auroras appear that is not well researched. For one, with this discovery, scientists now know there are unknown chemical processes taking place in the sub auroral zone that can lead to this light emission.

Second, Steve consistently appears in the presence of auroras, which usually occur at a higher latitude area called the auroral zone. That means there is something happening in near-Earth space that leads to both an aurora and Steve.

Steve might be the only visual clue that exists to show a chemical or physical connection between the higher latitude auroral zone and lower latitude sub auroral zone, said MacDonald.

"Steve can help us understand how the chemical and physical processes in Earth's upper atmosphere can sometimes have local noticeable effects in lower parts of Earth's atmosphere," said MacDonald. "This provides good insight on how Earth's system works as a whole."

The team can learn a lot about Steve with additional ground and satellite reports, but recording Steve from the ground and space simultaneously is a rare occurrence.

Each Swarm satellite orbits Earth every 90 minutes and Steve only lasts up to an hour in a specific area. If the satellite misses Steve as it circles Earth, Steve will probably be gone by the time that same satellite crosses the spot again.

In the end, capturing Steve becomes a game of perseverance and probability.

"It is my hope that with our timely reporting of sightings, researchers can study the data so we can together unravel the mystery of Steve's origin, creation, physics and sporadic nature," said Bourassa. "This is exciting because the more I learn about it, the more questions I have."

As for the name "Steve" given by the citizen scientists? The team is keeping it as an homage to its initial name and discoverers. But now it is STEVE, short for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement.


What to read next

Vienna's gay-themed lights made into t-shirts
NASA spots two mysterious lights coming from Ceres
World's largest Christmas tree in Gubbio lit up from space

Winter storm moving across U.S.

 
A hyperactive weather pattern will bring an expansive low pressure system across mainland U.S., resulting in widespread impactful weather to progress from west to east across the country through the next few days.
 
 

Latest

Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 2 to 588
Massachusetts Governor Healey welcomes Jordan king
Attorney General coalition probing asset managers’ activity regarding Chinese investments
Amazon announces 1,000 new UK apprenticeship opportunities for 2025

NEWS

U.S.: Pacific storm will bring strong winds, heavy rain, and mountain snow

EPPO probes steel import tax fraud with searches in UK and Germany
Police investigate extensive data breach on Valio’s network
U.S.: Prolonged heavy rain and snowfall
Croatia: Investigation launched against 2 individuals and 1 company suspected of subsidy fraud
Latvia-Sweden subsea cable damaged in Baltic Sea
 

BUSINESS

Cable laying begins for Tyrrhenian Link interconnector in Italy

Construction of Serbia-Hungary oil pipeline to begin by end-2025
Six contractors set to bid for Stad ship tunnel in Norway
New Cebu International Container Port construction begins
Baltic States join the European continental electricity grid
U.S. drillers add oil and gas rigs to 586
 

Trending Now

Winter storm moving across U.S.

Massachusetts Governor Healey welcomes Jordan king

Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 2 to 588

Novartis opens 40 mln euro plant in Slovenia


POLITICS

Trump raises aluminum tariffs to 25 pct, ends exemptions on steel and aluminum

Greece to protest Italian sale of aerospace giant Piaggio to Turkish drone manufacturer Baykar
South Africa raises national minimum wage to $1.55 per hour
Moldova announces tender for constructing wind, solar parks worth 200 mln euros
Denmark supports hydrogen pipeline to Germany with $1.1bn of subsidies
EU invests over €1.2 billion in cross-border infrastructure
 

Today We Recommend

Attorney General coalition probing asset managers’ activity regarding Chinese investments


Highlights 

Amazon announces 1,000 new UK apprenticeship opportunities for 2025

NIB provides loan to Tønder Biogas for one of Europe’s largest biogas facilities

bp and Iberdrola begin construction of Spain’s largest green hydrogen plant


COMPANIES

Novartis opens 40 mln euro plant in Slovenia

NIB provides loan to Tønder Biogas for one of Europe’s largest biogas facilities
Amadix to develop innovative diagnostic tests for early cancer detection
bp and Iberdrola begin construction of Spain’s largest green hydrogen plant
Cold-Link Logistics will create 123 new jobs in Robeson County, North Carolina
ArcelorMittal plans Alabama mill to produce electrical steel, will create 1,300+ jobs
 

CAREERS

Ruslan Pereira promoted to head of sales for Lindemann’s South American region

Nazeem Noordali appointed CEO of International Islamic Trade Finance Corporation
Inizio appoints Colin Stanley as chief commercial officer
Bridgewest Group names operating partner and general manager, Europe
Keith Hale named group CEO to Unite Titian Software & Labguru (BioData)
Solithor appoints new CEO
 

ECONOMY

U.S. becomes New Zealand's second largest export destination

Indonesia goes from $0.6 billion deficit to $5.9 billion surplus
Greece to repay $5.3 billion bailout debt early
Fraser Institute: Canada’s debt ranking falls from best in G7 to 7th worst
Kuwait reports $5.2 bln budget deficit in FY 2023-24
Eurozone reports modest Q1 GDP growth, stable annual inflation
 

EARNINGS

Ericsson Q2 sales down but North America up

Lockton revenue $3.55 billion
Motorcar Parts of America Q4 sales $189.5 million
Limoneira Q2 revenue $44.6 million
Lululemon athletica Q1 revenue increased 10% to $2.2 billion
PVH Q1 GAAP EBIT $205 million
 

OP-ED

Micromanaging is the worst enemy of efficiency and teamwork

Niger set to monetize massive gas reserves through Saharan natural gas pipeline
Putting the brakes on EV folly that choked the market
Oil discovery in Kavango Basin may mean huge benefits for Namibians
Cape Town and Dubai battle over Africa's energy future
Is America going to lose its superpower status?
 

AGRIFISH

Higher salmon volumes and U.S. growth resulted in record Norwegian seafood exports in January

U.S. resumes cattle and bison imports from Mexico under new protocol
Canada considers lowering tebuconazole residue limit on grapes, impacting U.S. imports
How expensive was agricultural land in Europe in 2023
Iran to import 50,000 tons of potatoes to stabilize prices amid rising food costs
JBS and partners donate 3 million tags to improve livestock traceability in Pará, Brazil
 

LEADERSHIP

Study: Missing a deadline has a bigger impact than you might think

Employers prefer younger job candidates for AI roles although experienced workers perform same or better
Study finds workers misjudge wage markets
Some organizations may need to expand their hierarchical structures earlier than others
Study finds there's right way and wrong way to deliver negative feedback in workplace
Allyship is critical and its needs appreciation
 

CRIME

Commission fines Pierre Cardin and its licensee Ahlers €5.7 million for restricting cross-border sales of clothing

BHP, Vale agree to pay $30B damages for Brazil dam disaster
Commission fines České dráhy and Österreichische Bundesbahnen €48.7 million over collusion to exclude common compe
SEC charges Keurig with making inaccurate statements regarding recyclability of K-Cup beverage pod
SEC charges John Deere with FCPA violations for subsidiary’s role in Thai bribery scheme
AG Bonta secures $3.9 million settlement with cryptocurrency company Robinhood
 

Magazine

TRAVEL

Radisson Hotel Group debuts in the heart of Tunisia’s capital city, Tunis

Morocco’s first Radisson branded hotel opens in Casablanca
Buna channels, an unreal and beautiful part of Bosnia and Herzegovina
JW Marriott unveils Mindful Haven with opening of JW Marriott Hotel Nairobi
Sotheby's Sports Week returns with fantastic artifacts
Red Roof properties open in Michigan
 

SEA, LAND, AIR

Citroën C3 Aircross, the most affordable compact SUV with 7 seats

2025 Chevrolet Equinox stands apart with fresh looks and capability
Hill Helicopters HX50, luxury in the sky
Opel Movano becomes fully equipped camper van
Porsche Panamera, new hybrid variants
Dodge Charger, 670 horsepower of electric
 

DESIGN

Cold night, hot fire pit, cool entertainment

Embellish your home with PVC panels
You'll have to hurry if you want one of 20 new Louis Vuitton watches
Luxury duvet looks good, fells good and keeps you healthy
Vacheron Constantin, watches for life and more
Schüller kitchens, where functionality marries design
 

GADGETS

MESA/Boogie Celebrates 40-year partnership with John Petrucci

reMarkable 2, monochrome tablet for your thoughts and your eyes
OnePlus Ace 3V, first with Snapdragon 7 Plus Gen 3
ASUS Zenfone 11 Ultra, flagship with a reason
Samsung Galaxy S24 is photography powerhouse
Casette tapes are making a big comeback, and so are portable players
 

HEALTH

Human cases of anthrax reported in western Mongolia

One more barrier to developing vaccine for HIV removed
Rwanda begins world's first clinical trial for treatment of Marburg virus disease
Rwanda restricts gatherings amid Marburg virus outbreak, to begin trials of vaccine
Teksas Attorney General reaches settlement in first-of-its-kind healthcare generative AI investigation
Potentially deadly fungal disease spreading in California
 

MEANTIME

India launches space docking experiment mission

World-first carbon-14 diamond battery made
Einstein Telescope step closer
Exoplanet-hunting telescope to begin search for another Earth in 2026
India to build first phase of its own space station by 2028
Roscosmos chief approves schedule of creating Russian orbital station through 2033