NASA has discovered strange spectral forms on Earth

The ionosphere extends from 80 to 640 kilometers above the planet and marks the boundary between our planet’s atmosphere and outer space. Although it hosts most of the satellites that orbit the Earth, it is vulnerable to changes in space weather (primarily electromagnetic radiation emitted by the Sun), which can wreak havoc on the area and affect communications equipment. Now, NASA scientists have discoveredunusual shapes in the Earth’s ionosphere at altitudes of hundreds of kilometers above the surface.

Under certain conditions, the layer can become electrically charged. As the Global Limb and Disk Observations (GOLD) imaging instrument has discovered, streaks of plasma extending through the ionosphere may result in the formation of unusual X- and C-shaped formations..

It’s a mysterious “alphabet soup,” as NASA called the results in a press release. may shed light on how space weather can affect the atmosphere the top of our planet and “interfere with radio and GPS signals.” According to NASA, charged particles can create dense bands or ridges around Earth’s magnetic equator, and pockets of low density caused by the setting sun can lead to the formation of low-density zones called “bubbles.”

Scientists believe that larger disturbances such as solar storms or even massive volcanic eruptions.may result in the merging of multiple ridges to form an “X”, as previous GOLD observations have shown. But now scientists have found the same forms without any triggers, during what scientists call the quiet time.

“Previous reports of melting have only occurred during geomagnetic disturbances; this is an unexpected feature in geomagnetically quiet conditions“,” explains Fazlul Laskar, a research assistant at the University of Colorado and lead author of the study that discovered the phenomenon. Its unknown origin is what has experts dubious.

“X is weird because implies that there are many more localized determinants ” adds NASA scientist and ionospheric expert Jeffrey Klenzing. “This is expected during extreme events, but seeing it during quiet times suggests that lower atmospheric activity is significantly affecting the structure of the ionosphere.”

In addition to the X shape, some bubbles in the ionosphere can also bend into C shapes, which new observations suggest can appear very close to each other. As a result, There is still much to learn about the protective layer magnetically charged from our planet.

“The fact that we have bubbles of very different shapes, located so close to each other, tells us that atmospheric dynamics are more complex than we expected– concludes Klenzing.