Key Stages of the Mechanism by Which the Aurora Is Produced (IMAGE)

University of Bern

Key Stages of the Mechanism by Which the Aurora Is Produced

Caption

This image shows the key stages of the mechanism by which this aurora is produced: as electrons stream out into space from the Sun and approach the comet, they are accelerated and break down molecules in the comet's environment. Some of the atoms of hydrogen and oxygen are produced in an excited state and de-excite by producing ultraviolet emissions, the observed aurora. The auroral nature of the emissions has been revealed from the analysis of observations from a set of in situ and remote-sensing instruments aboard Rosetta (RPC, ROSINA, VIRTIS, MIRO and Alice).

Credit

ESA (spacecraft: ESA/ATG medialab)

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