[Swordmaker]

Whow... the aurora is electrical... who knew... PING!

If you want on or off the Electric Universe Ping List, Freepmail me.

[Londo Molari]

Viewing the Northern Lights contributes to global warming.

[tophat9000]

Aurora Borealis and the Electric Tornadoes... good name for a band

[BerryDingle]

I sure would hate to be using that outhouse in that weather.

[notdownwidems]

Do they have auroras on uranus?

[Beowulf9]

This is so interesting. Thanks for posting!

[dr_lew]

The 42 second video Secret of the Northern Lights Revealed is linked from the space.com article, Electricity Measured Inside Space Tornadoes . ( There's an ad in front of the video, FYI. )

The video shows no hint of any kind of vorticity, but I guess that we are supposed to understand that the ions spiral along the magnetic lines, conjuring the image of a tornado. What it does show is the tail of the magnetosphere folding in on itself until it pinches, as indicated by a blinding flash ( wouldn't that be something to see ) which is pure dramatization. Presumably this pinch is what herds the particles along the lines towards the auroral regions, and consitutes the "secret". I personally think it's a pretty crappy video, with very little in it that goes towards illustrating the scientific finding.

[GOP Poet]

Cool!

[qwertypie]

Pulling guard duty at Ft. Wainwright (adjacent to Fairbanks) was a surreal experience when the light show was in progress (often). During the winter especially. Add it to the phenomenon of all the arctic hare eyes reflecting off the jeep headlights, and it was like being on another planet.

[kalee]

ping

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks LucyT for the FReepmail, bruinbirdmand for the topic, and Swordmaker for the ping.

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