Comet 67P aurora, researchers have found evidence of far-ultraviolet aurora

Comet 67P aurora, researchers have found evidence of far-ultraviolet aurora.

On Earth, aurora are generated when electrically charged particles speeding from the Sun hit the upper atmosphere to create colorful shimmers of green, white, and red.

Elsewhere in the Solar System, Jupiter and some of its moons — as well as Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and even Mars — have all exhibited their own version of aurora.

The Rosetta spacecraft escorted comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko for more than two years.

The data for the current study is on what the Rosetta scientists initially interpreted as ‘dayglow,’ a process caused by photons interacting with the coma that radiates from, and surrounds, the comet’s nucleus.

But the new analysis of the Rosetta data paints a very different picture.

“The glow surrounding 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko is one of a kind,” said lead author Dr. Marina Galand, a researcher at Imperial College London.

“By linking data from numerous Rosetta instruments, we were able to get a better picture of what was going on.”

“This enabled us to unambiguously identify how 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko’s ultraviolet atomic emissions form.” 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Tyler Technologies ransomware, but insisted customers were safe

Spain choir practice COVID-19, infects 30 of 41 members with virus

Chuck E. Cheese animated show, Jumping to Movies and Cartoons