‘Dunes’ - a new kind of northern lights

A group of Finnish astronomers has discovered a new kind of northern lights. The phenomenon was called ‘dunes’ due to its resemblance to sand dunes. 

The northern lights are one of the most beautiful natural phenomena in the world. But not everyone knows that there are several types of northern lights. Scientists at the University of Helsinki recently announced their discovery of a new kind of northern lights, which was called ‘dunes’. The discovery was made by a group of amateur astronomers. 

‘Dunes’ are caused by glowing atoms of oxygen as they interact with charged electrons emitted by the Sun. The glow is created at a height of approximately 100 km, which is unusually high for northern lights. At this height, there is a boundary between the ionosphere and an electrically neutral section of the atmosphere, and the light waves are approximately 45 km apart.

This layer of the atmosphere went unobserved in the past, but the discovery of this new natural phenomenon will attract more meticulous attention from the scientific community. You can take a look at the dunes in the video below.