The northern lights (in the photo above) and its less well -known counterpart – the southern radiance – arise in the form of wave -like streams of greenish or reddish radiance near the polar regions of the earth. They are similar, but not identical. For a long time, scientists rackled their heads, why is it so – and now, it seems, they have found an answer.
The polar radiance is a “sun wind”, a breakthrough of charged particles emitted by the sun, through the magnetic field of our planet. Since these particles move along the symmetrical lines inside the field connecting the North and South Pole, the logical conclusion suggests itself that they will mirror each other. However, in 2009, two simultaneous radiance on both poles were recorded – and they differed from each other.
For analysis, 10 asymmetric images were taken away, taken simultaneously at both poles. Studying them, the researchers found that when the flows of solar winds approach the ground from east to west, they create uneven pressure on the magnetic field and shift it to the shadow side of the planet. The slope, in turn, provokes idiosyncrazia of the form and location of the radiance, hence the differences. The results of the work are published in Geophysical Research: Space Physics.