Jul 25, 2008 5:00 pm US/Eastern
Scientists Try To Unravel Northern Lights Mystery
GREENBELT, Md. (WJZ) ―
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The Northern Lights are giving up secrets that could save lives in space, and power grids on ground.
AP
Scientists in Maryland are helping to unravel one of nature's most spectacular mysteries.
As
Alex DeMetrick reports, the Northern Lights are giving up secrets that could save lives in space, and power grids on ground.
Eerie, beautiful and more than a little puzzling, the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights have been at the center of a scientific debate for decades.
Now, five small satellites launched last year named the Themis Mission are supplying answers to NASA researchers at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt.
They now know the lights begin with a bang 80,000 miles up.
"The explosion of energy that produces Aurora begins with a big explosion about a third of the distance to the moon, and that shoots jets toward the earth to cause the Aurora," said Dr. Dave Sibeck, Themis scientist.
It starts when the sun erupts with solar flares. That energy then hits earth's magnetic field, stretching it until it snaps. That release turns on the lights.
"Millions of amps of current are pumped into the atmosphere by these sub-storms and they can get into power lines and blow transformers. The charged particles can injure astronauts by causing cancer. They can also short-circuit satellites," said Dr. Sibeck.
Protection improves with knowledge, as the lights give up their secrets. Originally set to run for two years, results coming in from the Themis project have convinced NASA to extend the mission.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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