Association of structured continuum emission with dynamic aurora.

ABSTRACT: Patterns of ionospheric luminosity provide a unique window into our complex, coupled space environment. The aurora, for example, indicates plasma processes occurring thousands of km away, depositing immense amounts of energy into our polar ionospheres. Here we show observations of structured continuum emission associated with the dynamic aurora. The presence of weak ambient continuum emission has long been recognized. However, studies of its relationship to aurora are scarce and limited by observational constraints. We use spectrally resolved measurements to analyze these previously unexplained emissions, adding critical information about spatial structure, characteristic spectra, and location within auroral dynamics. Our findings demonstrate that the coupling among auroral processes, the

SUBMITTER: Spanswick E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11685667 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature