Perhaps the best known product of the Earth ‘s magnetic field is Aurora Borealis and Australis (Northern and Southern Lights). When particles from the sun’s wind run into the Earth’s magnetic field, they can occasionally experience spectacular light displays.
For years now, scientists have believed that the charged particles causing these exposures have been sent in equal numbers towards the North and South Poles.
However, recent research by a team led by scientists from the University of Alberta, has shown that more charged grains go north than south. The question now is why?
The data used by the scientists was collected by the Swarm satellite constellation – a set of 3 satellites that have been monitoring the Earth ‘s magnetic field since 2013.
One thing he noticed at the time was that the Earth ‘s magnetic south pole is “further away from the Earth’ s spinning axis than the magnetic north pole” says Ivan Pakhotin, the paper ‘s lead author.
This leads to differences in mirrors of a type of electromagnetic wave called Alfvén waves, which ultimately causes differences in how the North and South Poles interact. with the wind of the sun.
This measured inconsistency could mean any number of things. For one, the chemistry occurring in the upper atmosphere could significantly alter the North and South Poles, which can have a profound effect on the earth ‘s climate. But also, it could mean a difference between the two Auroras.
So far the effect of the non-formation is unclear, and as with almost all good sciences, further study is needed. Swarm will continue its mission to collect data that will be relevant to resolving the anonymity.
In the meantime, those of us lucky enough to experience the Auroras themselves can continue to look up in amazement, no matter how unlikely they may be.
This article was originally published by Universe Today. Read the original article.