Auroral structure could be caused by bouncing electrons - Phys.org
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The aurora is among nature's most visually striking phenomena. It occurs when charged particles from the sun are funneled by Earth's magnetic field into the upper atmosphere, where they collide with atoms and molecules and produce distinctly colored curtainlike patterns of light.
Despite a good understanding of the physics driving the aurora, some small-scale features have proven more challenging to make sense of. Using high-resolution optical data and a simple mathematical model, researchers N. Brindley and D. Whiter showed certain fine auroral structures could result from electrons "bouncing" off low-frequency plasma waves (Alfvén waves) above the ionosphere. Their research is published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics.
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