Spanswick E, Liang J, Houghton J, Chaddock D, Donovan E, Gallardo-Lacourt B, Keenan C, Rosehart J, Nishimura Y, Hampton D, Gillies M
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Calgary, 2500 University Drive N.W., Calgary, T2N 1N4, AB, Canada.
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, 8800 Greenbelt Rd, Greenbelt, 20771, MD, USA.
Nat Commun. 2024 Dec 30;15(1):10802. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-55081-5.
Patterns of ionospheric luminosity provide a unique window into our complex, coupled space environment. The aurora, for example, indicates plasma processes occurring thousands of km away, depositing immense amounts of energy into our polar ionospheres. Here we show observations of structured continuum emission associated with the dynamic aurora. The presence of weak ambient continuum emission has long been recognized. However, studies of its relationship to aurora are scarce and limited by observational constraints. We use spectrally resolved measurements to analyze these previously unexplained emissions, adding critical information about spatial structure, characteristic spectra, and location within auroral dynamics. Our findings demonstrate that the coupling among auroral processes, the plasma, and the neutral atmosphere can unfold at meso-scales and is more complex than previously reported. We suggest that the meso-scale auroral precipitation may, under certain circumstances, effectively couple to atmospheric chemistry and conditions to produce the continuum structure.
