Scientists explain how a mysterious green glow appears in the sky

Recently, amateur astronomers and photographers have begun to notice unknown forms of auroras in the sky:

they looked like flashes in the sky. The authors of a new work from the Higher School of Economics, the Institute of Space Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radio Wave Propagation of the Russian Academy of Sciences have found out how they appear.

Previously, scientists found out that this phenomenon can beassociated with dust entering the ionosphere as a result of the destruction of micrometeorites and other objects. This is how a dusty plasma is obtained, and various processes inside it generate flashes of light.

Now the authors of the new work have found out how various interactions occur between different types of particles, specifically those that are at a given height and can penetrate into the dusty plasma clouds.

It turned out that the green glow appears not from the collision of charged particles and dust, but from the interaction between neutral atoms and particles of meteorites.

The results of our calculations are important for explaining anddescriptions of natural phenomena in the ionosphere and atmosphere of the Earth, in particular, the propagation of electromagnetic waves at altitudes from 90 to 120 kilometers. It is planned to continue studies of the effect of modulation excitation of irregularities in the ionosphere that arise during the operation of such installations as HAARP or EISCAT.

Sergey Popel, professor and one of the authors of the work

Read more:

The Earth began to spin faster: why is this happening and is there a danger

Physicists have cooled atoms to the lowest temperature in the world

An amateur astronomer filmed an unknown body falling on Jupiter