Named "Steve," the swathes of purple light filling skies over Regina, Canada, spurred plenty of intrigue when discovered by citizen scientists.
The lights, the likes of which locals had never seen before, were understood by scientists to be a new aurora. Or so they thought.
SEE ALSO:YouTube's women of STEM make learning about science funTurns out "Steve," which stands for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, is no aurora. It's an entirely new celestial phenomenon, with a different atmospheric process to an aurora.
The conclusion was made by researchers from the University of Calgary in Canada, who authored a study which was published in Geophysical Research Letters.
"So right now, we know very little about it," Bea Gallardo-Lacourt, a space physicist and the study's lead author, said in a statement online.
"And that's the cool thing, because this has been known by photographers for decades. But for the scientists, it’s completely unknown."
Credit: Getty ImagesResearchers refer to "Steve" as a "skyglow," to make it distinct from an aurora. Auroras are produced when charged particles from the sun collide with the magnetic fields in Earth's ionised upper atmosphere (the ionosphere), generating a stunning light display.
A NOAA satellite, POES-17, didn't detect any charged particles raining down to Earth's upper atmosphere when "Steve" took place, likely suggesting the "skyglow" could be a result of something else completely.
The next step for researchers is to see if streams of fast ions and hot electrons in the ionosphere are responsible for "Steve," or if the light is produced in higher atmosphere.
So "Steve," what the heck are you?
(责任编辑:綜合)
'Rocket League' Championship Series Season 2 offers $250,000 prize pool
Folks in the U.S. can play Android games on Windows PCs now
How to watch Disney's 'Strange World'
Instagram says Gen Z will embrace the social media side hustle in 2023
This coloring book is here for all your relationship goals
Google Assistant unveils new parental controls and personalization
'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for December 6
'Quordle' today: See each 'Quordle' answer and hints for December 11
This German startup wants to be your bank (without being a bank)
Tinder's Year in Swipe identifies 'situationships' as a valid relationship status
You will love/hate Cards Against Humanity's new fortune cookies
Elon Musk suspends Kanye West's Twitter account