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A bizarre dent in Earth ’s magnetic field above the southerly Atlantic Ocean weakens the southerly lights , new enquiry finds .
TheSouth Atlantic Anomalyis a large , oval - shaped neighborhood over South America and the southerly Atlantic Ocean where Earth ’s magnetic field is weakest . The unusual person is already well known for allow for charged particles from the sunshine to dip close to Earth ’s surface , give away satellites revolve above to mellow levels of ionize radiation therapy , agree toNASA .
Aurora seen above Queenstown, New Zealand. Researchers have discovered a huge dent in Earth’s magnetic field weakens the southern lights.
Now , a study published Feb. 8 in the journalGeophysical Research Lettersfinds that this debile region also affect the southern aurora , the glow lights in the upper atmosphere that can be seen at high latitude . The southern light occur over and around Antarctica and are the equivalent weight of the northerly visible radiation that dance over the Arctic and Subarctic .
Auroras are make by solar particles interacting with gas pedal mote in Earth ’s atmosphere and are commonly deal mostly under the control of the sun , saidZhi - Yang Liu , first writer of the study and a research worker at the Institute of Space Physics and Applied Technology at Peking University inChina . But the new research highlights the two - style nature of the relationship , Liu tell Live Science in an e-mail .
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The South Atlantic Anomaly is a weak point in Earth’s magnetic field, as seen in blue in this ESA visual. The white spots represent where satellite equipment was impacted by radiation as a result of the SAA.
" Our discovery highlight the implication of Earth - related factors , such as anomalies in Earth ’s intrinsical magnetic fields that revolve with the Earth , " Liu said .
The research worker used datum from an instrument aboard the FengYun-3E planet , launched in 2021 , that measure magnetized - field variation . They found a " material weakening " of magnetized fluctuations in the aurora australis , or southern lights , where it overlap with the South Atlantic Anomaly .
To confirm the findings , they also analyzed ultraviolet igniter from this region of the aurora using data from the U.S. Defense Meteorological Satellite Program . This also show a weakening in the southern luminousness in the area of the anomaly .
It ’s likely that this weakening is even visible to the naked eye , Liu and meditate co - author Qui - Gang Zong , also of the Institute of Space Physics and Applied Technology , take note .
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There are few break of day reported from China ’s Great Wall Station and other research station on King George Island than in other south-polar part , they aver . inquiry suggests that the ultraviolet and visible luminosity in dayspring conduct likewise , Liu aver , so it ’s likely that the seeable light of the aurora is weakened by the South Atlantic Anomaly , too .
The weakened magnetised fluctuation of the anomaly seem to reduce the amount of vim that can be put into the ambience by solar particles , Liu said , but the aperient of the weakened aurora is not totally interpret .
There may be feedback effect between the atmosphere and the solar get-up-and-go that further rarify the movie . next research will also enquire whether a similar phenomenon occurs on other planet , he say .
