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79-537: LC9 , LC-9 , or LC/9 may refer to: LC9, a rocket launch pad at the Andøya Rocket Range , Norway Buick V6 LC9 , an engine made by General Motors from 1978 to 1979 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 9 , a rocket launch pad in Florida LC9 (band) , a South Korean boy group Ruger LC9 , a semi-automatic pistol LC9 Vortec 5300 ,
158-433: A rocket system called North Star that will use a standardized hybrid motor , clustered in different numbers and arrangements, to build two types of sounding rockets and an orbital launcher " that would be able to deliver a 10 kg (22 lb) nanosat into polar orbit . Andøya Spaceport was established as a project in 2018, with the aim of establishing the first European launch base for small satellites. It
237-438: A geomagnetic connection comes from the statistics of auroral observations. Elias Loomis (1860), and later Hermann Fritz (1881) and Sophus Tromholt (1881) in more detail, established that the aurora appeared mainly in the auroral zone. In northern latitudes , the effect is known as the aurora borealis or the northern lights. The southern counterpart, the aurora australis or the southern lights, has features almost identical to
316-401: A geomagnetic storm temporarily enlarges the auroral oval. Large geomagnetic storms are most common during the peak of the 11-year sunspot cycle or during the three years after the peak. An electron spirals (gyrates) about a field line at an angle that is determined by its velocity vectors, parallel and perpendicular, respectively, to the local geomagnetic field vector B. This angle is known as
395-606: A height of 102 km into the atmosphere. Launching and collecting data after the first rocket was considered a success. Ferdinand 1 became the first of many successful rocket launches from Andøya . In 1997, a second launch site— Svalbard Rocket Range —was established at Ny-Ålesund , Svalbard , enabling scientists to launch sounding rockets straight in the polar cusp , where the Earth's magnetic field lines converge. A ground-based, lidar observatory, ALOMAR (Arctic Lidar Observatory for Middle Atmosphere Research) opened in 1994, and
474-432: A particle depends on the particle's pitch angle : the angle between its direction of motion and the local magnetic field. An aurora is created by processes that decrease the pitch angle of many individual electrons, freeing them from the magnetic trap and causing them to hit the atmosphere. In the case of diffuse auroras, the electron pitch angles are altered by their interaction with various plasma waves . Each interaction
553-531: A small-block engine made by General Motors [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title formed as a letter–number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=LC9&oldid=983808844 " Category : Letter–number combination disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
632-513: A southward component of the IMF, which can then directly connect to the high latitude geomagnetic field lines. The flow pattern of magnetospheric plasma is mainly from the magnetotail toward Earth, around Earth and back into the solar wind through the magnetopause on the day-side. In addition to moving perpendicular to Earth's magnetic field, some magnetospheric plasma travels down along Earth's magnetic field lines, gains additional energy and loses it to
711-501: A velocity typically around 400 km/s, a density of around 5 ions/cm and a magnetic field intensity of around 2–5 nT (for comparison, Earth's surface field is typically 30,000–50,000 nT). During magnetic storms , in particular, flows can be several times faster; the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) may also be much stronger. Joan Feynman deduced in the 1970s that the long-term averages of solar wind speed correlated with geomagnetic activity. Her work resulted from data collected by
790-606: A weak glow (often deep red) observed around the two polar cusps, the field lines separating the ones that close through Earth from those that are swept into the tail and close remotely. Early work on the imaging of the auroras was done in 1949 by the University of Saskatchewan using the SCR-270 radar. The altitudes where auroral emissions occur were revealed by Carl Størmer and his colleagues, who used cameras to triangulate more than 12,000 auroras. They discovered that most of
869-535: A year. These factors combined can lead to minor cyclical changes in the detailed way that the IMF links to the magnetosphere. In turn, this affects the average probability of opening a door through which energy from the solar wind can reach Earth's inner magnetosphere and thereby enhance auroras. Recent evidence in 2021 has shown that individual separate substorms may in fact be correlated networked communities. Just as there are many types of aurora, there are many different mechanisms that accelerate auroral particles into
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#1732791460146948-610: Is considered unique in atmospheric research in the Arctic. The range is also host of northern Europe's largest VHF -radar. In 1995, a Black Brant sounding rocket launched from Andøya caused a high alert in Russia, known as the Norwegian Rocket Incident . The Russians thought it might be a nuclear missile launched from an American submarine. President Boris Yeltsin was alerted for a possible counter strike, when
1027-696: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages And%C3%B8ya Rocket Range Andøya Space , also named Andøya Space Center and formerly Andøya Rocket Range , is a rocket launch site , rocket range , and spaceport on Andøya island (the northernmost in the Vesterålen archipelago) in Andøy Municipality in Nordland county, Norway . Since 1962, over 1,200 sounding and sub-orbital rockets of various configurations have been launched from
1106-443: Is essentially wave-particle scattering ; the electron energy after interacting with the wave is similar to its energy before interaction, but the direction of motion is altered. If the final direction of motion after scattering is close to the field line (specifically, if it falls within the loss cone ) then the electron will hit the atmosphere. Diffuse auroras are caused by the collective effect of many such scattered electrons hitting
1185-444: Is generally accompanied by decreasing peak emission heights of about 8 km for blue and green emissions and above average solar wind speeds ( c. 500 km/s ). In addition, the aurora and associated currents produce a strong radio emission around 150 kHz known as auroral kilometric radiation (AKR), discovered in 1972. Ionospheric absorption makes AKR only observable from space. X-ray emissions, originating from
1264-520: Is induced within the conductor. The strength of the current depends on a) the rate of relative motion, b) the strength of the magnetic field, c) the number of conductors ganged together and d) the distance between the conductor and the magnetic field, while the direction of flow is dependent upon the direction of relative motion. Dynamos make use of this basic process ("the dynamo effect "), any and all conductors, solid or otherwise are so affected, including plasmas and other fluids. The IMF originates on
1343-405: Is mainly satellites for Earth observation and communications that are planned to be launched from Andøya, in polar- or Sun-synchronous orbit. In polar orbit, the satellite passes above or near the Earth's poles at each orbit. This is favorable for Norway as they then provide good satellite coverage of Norwegian areas, good communication and sea monitoring in the north. Sun-synchronous orbit means that
1422-484: Is more effectively transferred by the temporary magnetic connection between the field lines of the solar wind and those of the magnetosphere. Unsurprisingly this process is known as magnetic reconnection . As already mentioned, it happens most readily when the interplanetary field is directed southward, in a similar direction to the geomagnetic field in the inner regions of both the north magnetic pole and south magnetic pole . Auroras are more frequent and brighter during
1501-407: Is regularly derived from ground data and serves as a general measure of auroral activity. Kristian Birkeland deduced that the currents flowed in the east–west directions along the auroral arc, and such currents, flowing from the dayside toward (approximately) midnight were later named "auroral electrojets" (see also Birkeland currents ). Ionosphere can contribute to the formation of auroral arcs via
1580-528: Is still its main focus. Other activities are UAVs , lidar and radar measurements for atmospheric research and also a test center for missiles through its subsidiary Andøya Test Center. Andøya has been proposed as a spaceport for launching orbital Nanosatellite launch vehicles (NLVs). In January 2013, the Nammo company and the Andøya Space Center announced that they would be " developing
1659-522: Is why there is a color differential with altitude; at high altitudes oxygen red dominates, then oxygen green and nitrogen blue/purple/red, then finally nitrogen blue/purple/red when collisions prevent oxygen from emitting anything. Green is the most common colour. Then comes pink, a mixture of light green and red, followed by pure red, then yellow (a mixture of red and green), and finally, pure blue. Precipitating protons generally produce optical emissions as incident hydrogen atoms after gaining electrons from
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#17327914601461738-481: The Explorer 33 spacecraft. The solar wind and magnetosphere consist of plasma (ionized gas), which conducts electricity. It is well known (since Michael Faraday 's work around 1830) that when an electrical conductor is placed within a magnetic field while relative motion occurs in a direction that the conductor cuts across (or is cut by ), rather than along , the lines of the magnetic field, an electric current
1817-467: The feedback instability under high ionospheric resistance conditions, observed at night time and in dark Winter hemisphere. Earth is constantly immersed in the solar wind , a flow of magnetized hot plasma (a gas of free electrons and positive ions) emitted by the Sun in all directions, a result of the two-million-degree temperature of the Sun's outermost layer, the corona . The solar wind reaches Earth with
1896-411: The mesosphere in presence of electron precipitation . Horse-collar auroras (HCA) are auroral features in which the auroral ellipse shifts poleward during the dawn and dusk portions and the polar cap becomes teardrop-shaped. They form during periods when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) is permanently northward, when the IMF clock angle is small. Their formation is associated with the closure of
1975-539: The northern lights ( aurora borealis ) or southern lights ( aurora australis ), is a natural light display in Earth 's sky, predominantly seen in high-latitude regions (around the Arctic and Antarctic ). Auroras display dynamic patterns of brilliant lights that appear as curtains, rays, spirals, or dynamic flickers covering the entire sky. Auroras are the result of disturbances in the Earth's magnetosphere caused by
2054-488: The solar wind . Major disturbances result from enhancements in the speed of the solar wind from coronal holes and coronal mass ejections . These disturbances alter the trajectories of charged particles in the magnetospheric plasma . These particles, mainly electrons and protons , precipitate into the upper atmosphere ( thermosphere / exosphere ). The resulting ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents emit light of varying colour and complexity. The form of
2133-455: The "pitch angle" of the particle. The distance, or radius, of the electron from the field line at any time is known as its Larmor radius. The pitch angle increases as the electron travels to a region of greater field strength nearer to the atmosphere. Thus, it is possible for some particles to return, or mirror, if the angle becomes 90° before entering the atmosphere to collide with the denser molecules there. Other particles that do not mirror enter
2212-409: The 1960s by many research teams using rockets and satellites to traverse the auroral zone. The main findings have been that auroral arcs and other bright forms are due to electrons that have been accelerated during the final few 10,000 km or so of their plunge into the atmosphere. These electrons often, but not always, exhibit a peak in their energy distribution, and are preferentially aligned along
2291-522: The Russians understood that it was not heading towards Russia. Russia was informed in advance about the launch, but this information was lost in the Russian bureaucracy, and never reached the radar operators; only seafarers were notified. The space center changed its name from Andøya Rocket Range on 6 June 2014 to reflect an increased focus on also other activities than sounding rockets, though rocketry
2370-524: The Sun, linked to the sunspots , and its field lines (lines of force) are dragged out by the solar wind. That alone would tend to line them up in the Sun-Earth direction, but the rotation of the Sun angles them at Earth by about 45 degrees forming a spiral in the ecliptic plane, known as the Parker spiral . The field lines passing Earth are therefore usually linked to those near the western edge ("limb") of
2449-529: The area of the Rocket Range was called Oksebåsen, "The Ox Pasture". This was during the Cold War , so the name should also indicate that Andøya Rocket Range only had peaceful intentions with its research. Ferdinand-1 was a NIKE-Cajun two-stage rocket that carried two instruments in its payload. The purpose of the launch was to do measurements in the ionosphere, where charged particles from the Sun ionize
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2528-486: The atmosphere and contribute to the auroral display over a range of altitudes. Other types of auroras have been observed from space; for example, "poleward arcs" stretching sunward across the polar cap, the related "theta aurora", and "dayside arcs" near noon. These are relatively infrequent and poorly understood. Other interesting effects occur such as pulsating aurora, "black aurora" and their rarer companion "anti-black aurora" and subvisual red arcs. In addition to all these,
2607-423: The atmosphere in the auroral zones. The cusps of the magnetosphere, separating geomagnetic field lines that close through Earth from those that close remotely allow a small amount of solar wind to directly reach the top of the atmosphere, producing an auroral glow. On 26 February 2008, THEMIS probes were able to determine, for the first time, the triggering event for the onset of magnetospheric substorms . Two of
2686-456: The atmosphere. Electron aurora in Earth's auroral zone (i.e. commonly visible aurora) can be split into two main categories with different immediate causes: diffuse and discrete aurora. Diffuse aurora appear relatively structureless to an observer on the ground, with indistinct edges and amorphous forms. Discrete aurora are structured into distinct features with well-defined edges such as arcs, rays and coronas; they also tend to be much brighter than
2765-447: The atmosphere. Proton auroras are usually observed at lower latitudes. Bright auroras are generally associated with Birkeland currents (Schield et al., 1969; Zmuda and Armstrong, 1973 ), which flow down into the ionosphere on one side of the pole and out on the other. In between, some of the current connects directly through the ionospheric E layer (125 km); the rest ("region 2") detours, leaving again through field lines closer to
2844-439: The atmosphere. The process is mediated by the plasma waves, which become stronger during periods of high geomagnetic activity , leading to increased diffuse aurora at those times. In the case of discrete auroras, the trapped electrons are accelerated toward Earth by electric fields that form at an altitude of about 4000–12000 km in the "auroral acceleration region". The electric fields point away from Earth (i.e. upward) along
2923-480: The atoms. The process is most intense in the polar ionosphere, and is important not only for the Northern Lights , but also for long-range radio communication, because the free electrons reflect the radio waves. The goal was to explore the possibility of improving long-range radio communication. The rocket was 7.7 m long, had a total weight of 698 kg and a maximum speed of 6760 km/h. It reached
3002-679: The aurora borealis and changes simultaneously with changes in the northern auroral zone. The aurora australis is visible from high southern latitudes in Antarctica , the Southern Cone , South Africa , Australasia and under exceptional circumstances as far north as Uruguay . The aurora borealis is visible from areas around the Arctic such as Alaska , Canada , Iceland , Greenland , the Faroe Islands , Scandinavia , Finland , Scotland , and Russia . A geomagnetic storm causes
3081-599: The aurora, occurring within bands around both polar regions, is also dependent on the amount of acceleration imparted to the precipitating particles. Most of the planets in the Solar System , some natural satellites , brown dwarfs , and even comets also host auroras. The term aurora borealis was coined by Galileo in 1619, from the Roman Aurora, goddess of the dawn , and the Greek Boreas, god of
3160-518: The auroral oval to active displays along the darkside and after 1–3 hours they gradually change back. Changes in auroras over time are commonly visualized using keograms . At shorter time scales, auroras can change their appearances and intensity, sometimes so slowly as to be difficult to notice, and at other times rapidly down to the sub-second scale. The phenomenon of pulsating auroras is an example of intensity variations over short timescales, typically with periods of 2–20 seconds. This type of aurora
3239-726: The auroral ovals (north and south) to expand, bringing the aurora to lower latitudes. On rare occasions, the aurora borealis can be seen as far south as the Mediterranean and the southern states of the US while the aurora australis can be seen as far north as New Caledonia and the Pilbara region in Western Australia . During the Carrington Event , the greatest geomagnetic storm ever observed, auroras were seen even in
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3318-412: The background magnetic field (comparable to the electron inertial length or ion gyroradius ), Alfvén waves develop a significant electric field parallel to the background magnetic field. This electric field can accelerate electrons to keV energies, significant to produce auroral arcs. If the electrons have a speed close to that of the wave's phase velocity, they are accelerated in a manner analogous to
3397-524: The cold north wind . The word aurora is derived from the name of the Roman goddess of the dawn, Aurora , who travelled from east to west announcing the coming of the Sun . Ancient Greek poets used the corresponding name " Eos " metaphorically to refer to dawn, often mentioning its play of colours across the otherwise dark sky (e.g., "rosy-fingered dawn"). The words borealis and australis are derived from
3476-465: The collision of particles precipitated into the atmosphere. Both incoming electrons and protons may be involved. Excitation energy is lost within the atmosphere by the emission of a photon, or by collision with another atom or molecule: Oxygen is unusual in terms of its return to ground state: it can take 0.7 seconds to emit the 557.7 nm green light and up to two minutes for the red 630.0 nm emission. Collisions with other atoms or molecules absorb
3555-468: The currents are the direct result of electron acceleration into the atmosphere by wave/particle interactions. Ionospheric resistance has a complex nature, and leads to a secondary Hall current flow. By a strange twist of physics, the magnetic disturbance on the ground due to the main current almost cancels out, so most of the observed effect of auroras is due to a secondary current, the auroral electrojet . An auroral electrojet index (measured in nanotesla)
3634-416: The diffuse aurora. In both cases, the electrons that eventually cause the aurora start out as electrons trapped by the magnetic field in Earth's magnetosphere . These trapped particles bounce back and forth along magnetic field lines and are prevented from hitting the atmosphere by the magnetic mirror formed by the increasing magnetic field strength closer to Earth. The magnetic mirror's ability to trap
3713-404: The dune aurora phenomenon was discovered by Finnish citizen scientists . It consists of regularly-spaced, parallel stripes of brighter emission in the green diffuse aurora which give the impression of sand dunes. The phenomenon is believed to be caused by the modulation of atomic oxygen density by a large-scale atmospheric wave travelling horizontally in a waveguide through an inversion layer in
3792-458: The electric field increases the kinetic energy of all of the electrons transiting downward through the acceleration region by the same amount. This accelerates electrons starting from the magnetosphere with initially low energies (tens of eV or less) to energies required to create an aurora (100s of eV or greater), allowing that large source of particles to contribute to creating auroral light. The accelerated electrons carry an electric current along
3871-454: The equator and closing through the "partial ring current" carried by magnetically trapped plasma. The ionosphere is an ohmic conductor , so some consider that such currents require a driving voltage, which an, as yet unspecified, dynamo mechanism can supply. Electric field probes in orbit above the polar cap suggest voltages of the order of 40,000 volts, rising up to more than 200,000 volts during intense magnetic storms. In another interpretation,
3950-490: The excitation energy and prevent emission; this process is called collisional quenching . Because the highest parts of the atmosphere contain a higher percentage of oxygen and lower particle densities, such collisions are rare enough to allow time for oxygen to emit red light. Collisions become more frequent progressing down into the atmosphere due to increasing density, so that red emissions do not have time to happen, and eventually, even green light emissions are prevented. This
4029-612: The first orbital launch site in continental Europe which will bring this access to space to Norway, and back to Europe. For Isar Aerospace, this step equals entering the final stages of our path to first flight. For Europe, it means being able to harness the power of the space platform.” Andøya has six launch pads during all or part of its life as a launch site: 69°17′39″N 16°01′15″E / 69.29417°N 16.02083°E / 69.29417; 16.02083 ( Andoya Rocket Range ) Aurora An aurora ( pl. aurorae or auroras ), also commonly known as
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#17327914601464108-465: The five probes, positioned approximately one third the distance to the Moon, measured events suggesting a magnetic reconnection event 96 seconds prior to auroral intensification. Geomagnetic storms that ignite auroras may occur more often during the months around the equinoxes . It is not well understood, but geomagnetic storms may vary with Earth's seasons. Two factors to consider are the tilt of both
4187-447: The geomagnetic pole (not the geographic pole) in the noon direction and 23° away in the midnight direction. The peak equatorward extent of the oval is displaced slightly from geographic midnight. It is centered about 3–5° nightward of the magnetic pole, so that auroral arcs reach furthest toward the equator when the magnetic pole in question is in between the observer and the Sun , which is called magnetic midnight . Early evidence for
4266-706: The importance of our endeavor and puts us on the New Space map in Europe.” Daniel Metzler, CEO and Co-Founder of Isar Aerospace said: “Today, Norway, the Andøya region and Isar Aerospace take a big step towards space. Over the last five years, we have built a rocket that will help to solve the most crucial bottleneck in the European space industry – sovereign and competitive access to space. Together with Andøya Spaceport, our team has created an excellent piece of engineering,
4345-430: The intense phase of the solar cycle when coronal mass ejections increase the intensity of the solar wind. Earth's magnetosphere is shaped by the impact of the solar wind on Earth's magnetic field. This forms an obstacle to the flow, diverting it, at an average distance of about 70,000 km (11 Earth radii or Re), producing a bow shock 12,000 km to 15,000 km (1.9 to 2.4 Re) further upstream. The width of
4424-401: The interaction of the solar wind with Earth's magnetosphere . The varying intensity of the solar wind produces effects of different magnitudes but includes one or more of the following physical scenarios. The details of these phenomena are not fully understood. However, it is clear that the prime source of auroral particles is the solar wind feeding the magnetosphere, the reservoir containing
4503-509: The light is produced between 90 and 150 km (56 and 93 mi) above the ground, while extending at times to more than 1,000 km (620 mi). According to Clark (2007), there are five main forms that can be seen from the ground, from least to most visible: Brekke (1994) also described some auroras as "curtains". The similarity to curtains is often enhanced by folds within the arcs. Arcs can fragment or break up into separate, at times rapidly changing, often rayed features that may fill
4582-762: The local direction of the magnetic field. Electrons mainly responsible for diffuse and pulsating auroras have, in contrast, a smoothly falling energy distribution, and an angular (pitch-angle) distribution favouring directions perpendicular to the local magnetic field. Pulsations were discovered to originate at or close to the equatorial crossing point of auroral zone magnetic field lines. Protons are also associated with auroras, both discrete and diffuse. Auroras result from emissions of photons in Earth's upper atmosphere , above 80 km (50 mi), from ionized nitrogen atoms regaining an electron, and oxygen atoms and nitrogen based molecules returning from an excited state to ground state . They are ionized or excited by
4661-426: The magnetic field line. Electrons moving downward through these fields gain a substantial amount of energy (on the order of a few keV ) in the direction along the magnetic field line toward Earth. This field-aligned acceleration decreases the pitch angle for all of the electrons passing through the region, causing many of them to hit the upper atmosphere. In contrast to the scattering process leading to diffuse auroras,
4740-432: The magnetic field lines (a Birkeland current ). Since the electric field points in the same direction as the current, there is a net conversion of electromagnetic energy into particle energy in the auroral acceleration region (an electric load ). The energy to power this load is eventually supplied by the magnetized solar wind flowing around the obstacle of Earth's magnetic field, although exactly how that power flows through
4819-422: The magnetic flux at the top of the dayside magnetosphere by the double lobe reconnection (DLR). There are approximately 8 HCA events per month, with no seasonal dependence, and that the IMF must be within 30 degrees of northwards. Conjugate auroras are nearly exact mirror-image auroras found at conjugate points in the northern and southern hemispheres on the same geomagnetic field lines. These generally happen at
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#17327914601464898-413: The magnetosphere abreast of Earth is typically 190,000 km (30 Re), and on the night side a long "magnetotail" of stretched field lines extends to great distances (> 200 Re). The high latitude magnetosphere is filled with plasma as the solar wind passes Earth. The flow of plasma into the magnetosphere increases with additional turbulence, density, and speed in the solar wind. This flow is favoured by
4977-490: The magnetosphere is still an active area of research. While the energy to power the aurora is ultimately derived from the solar wind, the electrons themselves do not travel directly from the solar wind into Earth's auroral zone; magnetic field lines from these regions do not connect to the solar wind, so there is no direct access for solar wind electrons. Some auroral features are also created by electrons accelerated by dispersive Alfvén waves . At small wavelengths transverse to
5056-473: The names of the ancient gods of the north wind ( Boreas ) and the south wind ( Auster ) in Greco-Roman mythology . Auroras are most commonly observed in the "auroral zone", a band approximately 6° (~660 km) wide in latitude centered on 67° north and south. The region that currently displays an aurora is called the "auroral oval". The oval is displaced by the solar wind, pushing it about 15° away from
5135-510: The opposite order. Until about 1963, it was thought that these changes are due to the rotation of the Earth under a pattern fixed with respect to the Sun. Later, it was found by comparing all-sky films of auroras from different places (collected during the International Geophysical Year ) that they often undergo global changes in a process called auroral substorm . They change in a few minutes from quiet arcs all along
5214-456: The particles associated with auroras, have also been detected. Aurora noise , similar to a crackling noise, begins about 70 m (230 ft) above Earth's surface and is caused by charged particles in an inversion layer of the atmosphere formed during a cold night. The charged particles discharge when particles from the Sun hit the inversion layer, creating the noise. In 2016, more than fifty citizen science observations described what
5293-593: The radiation zones and temporarily magnetically trapped particles confined by the geomagnetic field, coupled with particle acceleration processes. The immediate cause of the ionization and excitation of atmospheric constituents leading to auroral emissions was discovered in 1960, when a pioneering rocket flight from Fort Churchill in Canada revealed a flux of electrons entering the atmosphere from above. Since then an extensive collection of measurements has been acquired painstakingly and with steadily improving resolution since
5372-431: The ribbon). The processes that cause STEVE are also associated with a picket-fence aurora, although the latter can be seen without STEVE. It is an aurora because it is caused by precipitation of electrons in the atmosphere but it appears outside the auroral oval, closer to the equator than typical auroras. When the picket-fence aurora appears with STEVE, it is below. First reported in 2020, and confirmed in 2021,
5451-479: The rocket that was to take Norway into the space age, Ferdinand 1, launched from Andøya Rocket Range. This happened only five years after the Soviet Union launched the first man-made satellite, Sputnik 1 . The Norwegian scientists named the rocket "Ferdinand" after the story of the peaceful bull that did not like to fight but would rather sit in the meadow smelling the flowers. The name was appropriate since
5530-435: The satellite passes a given latitude to two fixed local times, one for northbound and one for southbound passage. The satellite's orbital plane rotates eastwards approx. 1 degree per day, and so it maintains the angle with respect to the sunlight and gets most light for its solar cells. In this way, satellites for Earth observation receive data with an equal amount of sunlight and can thus use data to analyze changes that occur on
5609-683: The site. Andøya Space is a civilian, limited liability company with its ownership split between two groups: 90% by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Trade and Industry , and 10% by Kongsberg Defence Systems company. It operates on a commercial basis. Andøya Space also supports the SvalRak launch facility in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard to the north. The facility has provided operations for both ESA , NASA , JAXA and DLR missions and related scientific research. On August 18, 1962,
5688-416: The solar and Earth's axis to the ecliptic plane. As Earth orbits throughout a year, it experiences an interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) from different latitudes of the Sun, which is tilted at 8 degrees. Similarly, the 23-degree tilt of Earth's axis about which the geomagnetic pole rotates with a diurnal variation changes the daily average angle that the geomagnetic field presents to the incident IMF throughout
5767-478: The surface throughout the year. Norway funded the site with NOK 365.6 million, expecting a commercial return of the investment. Isar Aerospace of Germany signed an agreement with Andøya Space, securing exclusive access for a period of up to twenty years to one launch pad on the island Andøya. As a launch site operator, the Andøya Spaceport provides launch pads, payload integration facilities as well as
5846-422: The technical infrastructure on site. Ingun Berget, President of Andøya Spaceport said: “The opening of the spaceport on Andøya island marks an important milestone for Norway, European New Space industry and our partnership with Isar Aerospace: This enables us to have the first satellite launches ever from European soil to take place from Andøya. The attendance of today's opening by Crown Prince Haakon underlines
5925-409: The time of the equinoxes , when there is little difference in the orientation of the north and south geomagnetic poles to the sun. Attempts were made to image conjugate auroras by aircraft from Alaska and New Zealand in 1967, 1968, 1970, and 1971, with some success. A full understanding of the physical processes which lead to different types of auroras is still incomplete, but the basic cause involves
6004-414: The tropics. Auroras seen within the auroral oval may be directly overhead. From farther away, they illuminate the poleward horizon as a greenish glow, or sometimes a faint red, as if the Sun were rising from an unusual direction. Auroras also occur poleward of the auroral zone as either diffuse patches or arcs, which can be subvisual. Auroras are occasionally seen in latitudes below the auroral zone, when
6083-406: The visible Sun at any time. The solar wind and the magnetosphere, being two electrically conducting fluids in relative motion, should be able in principle to generate electric currents by dynamo action and impart energy from the flow of the solar wind. However, this process is hampered by the fact that plasmas conduct readily along magnetic field lines, but less readily perpendicular to them. Energy
6162-506: The whole sky. These are also known as discrete auroras , which are at times bright enough to read a newspaper by at night. These forms are consistent with auroras being shaped by Earth's magnetic field. The appearances of arcs, rays, curtains, and coronas are determined by the shapes of the luminous parts of the atmosphere and a viewer's position . Auroras change with time. Over the night they begin with glows and progress toward coronas, although they may not reach them. They tend to fade in
6241-424: Was to them an unknown type of aurora which they named " STEVE ", for "Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement". STEVE is not an aurora but is caused by a 25 km (16 mi) wide ribbon of hot plasma at an altitude of 450 km (280 mi), with a temperature of 3,000 °C (3,270 K; 5,430 °F) and flowing at a speed of 6 km/s (3.7 mi/s) (compared to 10 m/s (33 ft/s) outside
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