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Space physics

An auroral signature decoded

Nature volume 408, pages 42–43 (2000)Cite this article

It has been hard to relate the activity of the northern lights to specific events in space. But the latest data show that 'auroral streamers' can be matched to bursts of ionized particles from Earth's magnetotail.

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Figure 1: Sun, Earth and the magnetotail.
Figure 2: An auroral streamer, orientated north–south, indicated by the arrow.

NASA

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  1. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, 20723, Maryland, USA

    Patrick T. Newell

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  1. Patrick T. Newell
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Correspondence to Patrick T. Newell.

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Newell, P. An auroral signature decoded. Nature 408, 42–43 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35040680

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