NASA scientists have identified mysterious shapes flying in a part of the atmosphere, at an altitude of about 48 – 965 kilometers, using an imaging tool called “GOLD.”
Scientists have discovered unexpected X- and C-shaped formations in an electrified layer of gas in a part of the atmosphere called the ionosphere, Russia Today reported, citing the Journal of Geophysical Research.
Scientists found the structures around the ionosphere (the region where Earth’s atmosphere meets space), and said the discovery could help improve radio communications and space weather forecasts.
The ionosphere, which lies about 80 to 644 km (50 to 400 miles) above the planet’s surface, becomes electrically charged as sunlight hits it throughout the day. This generates plasma beams of charged particles that are further influenced by Earth’s magnetic field. These bubbles of plasma are what form the X and C shapes observed.
Previous studies have shown that plasma peaks merge to form an X-shape after solar storms and large volcanic eruptions.
“Previous reports of the merger were only during magnetically turbulent conditions,” Fazlul Laskar, an ionospheric physicist at the University of Colorado and co-author of the paper, said in a NASA statement. “This is an unexpected feature during geomagnetically quiet conditions.”
Plasma in the ionosphere is essential for radio waves to travel long distances, which means that disturbances in the ionosphere can have an impact on important communications and navigation infrastructure.
“The fact that we have very different bubble shapes close together tells us that the atmospheric dynamics are more complex than expected,” said astrophysicist Jeffrey Klinzing of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, who was indirectly involved in the study.
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