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Space physics

Rhythms of the auroral dance

Nature volume 414, pages 700–701 (2001)Cite this article

Earlier this year, the four satellites of the Cluster mission passed through part of the electric circuit that causes aurorae. Their observations support the view that intense aurorae form in regions largely devoid of electrons.

So we have a long-running mystery. Understanding when and how these magnetic-field-aligned electric circuits are created is key to explaining how aurorae form, and one important question is the timescale over which the fields evolve. On page 724 of this issue4, Marklund and colleagues report on the first multi-satellite encounter with the auroral circuit, and the resulting observations that bear on this question.

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Figure 1: Auroral displays seen from space and (inset) from Earth.

(Main image courtesy of B. Mauk, JHU/APL.)

Figure 2: The auroral circuit.

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  1. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, 11100 Johns Hopkins Road, Laurel, 20723, Maryland, USA

    Patrick T. Newell

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  1. Patrick T. Newell
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Correspondence to Patrick T. Newell.

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T. Newell, P. Rhythms of the auroral dance. Nature 414, 700–701 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1038/414700a

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