Why Do Some Auroras Flicker While Others Pulse? NASA’s Rockets Are About to Find Out

24th Jan 2025
Why Do Some Auroras Flicker While Others Pulse? NASA’s Rockets Are About to Find Out

The Alaskan Auroras are a marvellous sight to behold and a tourist attraction for the region; however, to better understand the nature of this sight the NASA GIRAFF mission is preparing for launch. This mission aims to understand why some of the Auroras flicker while others pulsate or come with holes in them.

NASA Rockets Target the Mysteries of Alaska’s Auroras

While the Aurora Borealis, also known as the Northern Lights, are fun to watch, they leave a question on the mind of many. What causes this brilliant shower of lights that has come to be a joyful sight for many today?

Scientists explain that Aurora borealis is a result of the collisions of free electrons in the Earth’s atmosphere. This collision leads to the release of gases that glow in the night sky.

While the cause of the Aurora Borealis is scientifically known, the cause of the colliding electrons is still a mystery. To better understand this mystery, NASA space physicists Samara and Robert Michell will observe the Auroras Borealis using two soon-to-launch NASA rockets.

The NASA GIRAFF (Ground Imaging to Rocket Investigation of Auroral Fast Features) mission will launch two rockets into space, each of a subtype of aurora. One rocket will aim to observe the fast-pulsating auroras, while the other rocket will aim to observe the flickering auroras.

How NASA GIRAFF Mission Will Observe The Alaskan Auroras

While the idea of observing the Alaskan Auroras is great, it comes with its issues that the NASA GIRAFF mission will need to work around. One of these issues is that flying a rocket through an aurora isn’t as easy as it may sound.

The wind around the auroras isn’t similar to regular wind, hence making it hard to fly a rocket through. For this reason, Samara and Robert Michell’s teams will need to observe the Alaskan auroras from the ground before launching each rocket.

This tracking process will be conducted from two locations, one being the rocket’s launch site and the other being the down-range observatory. The down-range observatory is located in Venetie, Alaska, which is about 140 miles northeast of the rocket trajectory.
By observing the auroras from these locations, the NASA GIRAFF mission team will be able to deduce the best time to launch both rockets and better observe the Alaskan auroras. If calculated correctly, both launches will be able to help the folks at NASA better understand the cause of fast-pulsating and flickering auroras.

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