Magnetic Reconnection
We see auroras at the tail end of a great journey energy makes from the sun. Now, scientists have mapped the details of this journey better than ever before. Auroras are produced when fast-moving particles funnel toward the poles and collide with gases in Earth’s atmosphere. But what shifts these particles into high gear is a shockwave of energy that’s caused by the crossing and realignment of magnetic field lines on the night side of the planet. This process, called magnetic reconnection, takes place in a distant region of the vast magnetic environment that surrounds Earth known as the magnetotail. Taking advantage of an unprecedented alignment of eight satellites, scientists tracked the flow of energy from the sun to the magnetotail and back to Earth for the first time. Watch the video to see this journey unfold.
How auroras are made.
See how energy from the sun travels around Earth and back in this simulation.
Energy from the sun (colored arrows) hits the front of Earth’s magnetic field and is diverted to the night side of the planet.
Following a magnetic reconnection, waves of energy (colored arrows) surge toward Earth.
The shimmering lights of the aurora are the result of energy traveling around the planet and back.
For More Information
See NASA.gov
Credits
Please give credit for this item to:
NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center
Aurora image courtesy of Minoru Yoneto
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Animator
- Tom Bridgman (Global Science and Technology, Inc.)
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Video editor
- Genna Duberstein (USRA)
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Narrator
- David G. Sibeck (NASA/GSFC)
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Producer
- Genna Duberstein (USRA)
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Scientists
- Vassilis Angelopoulos (University of California at Berkeley)
- Joachim Raeder (University of New Hampshire)
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Writer
- Karen Fox (ADNET Systems, Inc.)
Release date
This page was originally published on Tuesday, November 19, 2013.
This page was last updated on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 at 1:51 PM EDT.
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