After studying for two years the mysterious green auroras - which appeared on Christmas Day in the Arctic in 2022 - the Japanese and United States-based researchers have now found out that it occurred because of a 'rainstorm' of&nbsp;electrons which are directed from the Sun.

This was the first time such a rare aurora was witnessed from the Earth and it came when there was a major drop in the gusts of the solar wind, which had left the region around the Earth calm.

Generally, the auroras move and pulsate in clearly discernible shapes in the sky. The electrons from the solar wind - which is a stream of charged particles which flow from the Sun - power the auroral displays.

Then, the auroras get trapped in an extension of the magnetic field of Earth called the magnetotail.&nbsp;

When there is an extreme condition in the space weather, like when a coronal mass ejection&nbsp;(CME) - which is a large ejection of plasma as well as magnetic field from the Sun - gets released, the magnetotail gets pinched off.

Also Read:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/watch-iss-captures-fireworks-in-space-shares-footage-of-mesmerising-northern-lights-738470">ISS captures fireworks in space, shares footage of mesmerising Northern Lights</a>

Slowly, the trapped electrons flow down to the magnetic field line of the Earth near the poles. &nbsp;

As it happens, the electrons encounter the molecules present in the atmosphere of Earth, collide with them and make them glow in different colours of the aurora.

As they do so, they encounter molecules in&nbsp;Earth's atmosphere, colliding with them and prompting them to glow in the&nbsp;colours of the aurora.

<h2>How the Christmas aurora was different from the normal aurora</h2>

The aurora, which appeared on December 25-26, 2022, was pretty different.&nbsp;

The aurora, which was imaged by an All-Sky Electron Multiplying Charge-Coupled Device (EMCCD) camera in Longyearbyen in Norway, was a faint and featureless glow that spanned 2,485 miles (4,000 kilometres) in extent.&nbsp;

Watch:&nbsp;Aurora seen glowing from ISS as astronauts test Starliner&nbsp;

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/aurora-seen-glowing-from-iss-as-astronauts-test-starliner-trending-on-wion-732898/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

The aurora had no structure and did not have any pulsing or varying brightness. Such an aurora was never ever seen before from Earth.

A team led by Keisuke Hosokawa, who is from the Center for Space Science and Radio Engineering at the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo, solved the mystery behind these aurora by comparing them with what was seen by the Special Sensor Ultraviolet Scanning Imager (SSUSI) on the polar-orbiting satellites of the Defence Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP).&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

After studying for two years the mysterious green auroras - which appeared on Christmas Day in the Arctic in 2022 - the Japanese and United States-based researchers have now found out that it occurred because of a 'rainstorm' of electrons which are directed from the Sun.

After studying for two years the mysterious green auroras - which appeared on Christmas Day in the Arctic in 2022 - the Japanese and United States-based researchers have now found out that it occurred because of a 'rainstorm' of electrons which are directed from the Sun. This was the first time such a rare aurora was witnessed from the Earth and it came when there was a major drop in the gusts of the solar wind, which had left the region around the Earth calm. Generally, the auroras move and pulsate in clearly discernible shapes in the sky. The electrons from the solar wind - which is a stream of charged particles which flow from the Sun - power the auroral displays. Then, the auroras get trapped in an extension of the magnetic field of Earth called the magnetotail. When there is an extreme condition in the space weather, like when a coronal mass ejection (CME) - which is a large ejection of plasma as well as magnetic field from the Sun - gets released, the magnetotail gets pinched off. Also Read: ISS captures fireworks in space, shares footage of mesmerising Northern Lights Slowly, the trapped electrons flow down to the magnetic field line of the Earth near the poles. As it happens, the electrons encounter the molecules present in the atmosphere of Earth, collide with them and make them glow in different colours of the aurora. As they do so, they encounter molecules in Earth's atmosphere, colliding with them and prompting them to glow in the colours of the aurora. How the Christmas aurora was different from the normal aurora The aurora, which appeared on December 25-26, 2022, was pretty different. The aurora, which was imaged by an All-Sky Electron Multiplying Charge-Coupled Device (EMCCD) camera in Longyearbyen in Norway, was a faint and featureless glow that spanned 2,485 miles (4,000 kilometres) in extent. Watch: Aurora seen glowing from ISS as astronauts test Starliner The aurora had no structure and did not have any pulsing or varying brightness. Such an aurora was never ever seen before from Earth. A team led by Keisuke Hosokawa, who is from the Center for Space Science and Radio Engineering at the University of Electro-Communications in Tokyo, solved the mystery behind these aurora by comparing them with what was seen by the Special Sensor Ultraviolet Scanning Imager (SSUSI) on the polar-orbiting satellites of the Defence Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP). (With inputs from agencies)

Earth witnessed never-ever-seen 'polar rain' aurora. Here's how this eerie glow was formed

polar-rain

Polar Rain, News on Polar Rain, stories on Polar Rain, articles on Polar Rain, Polar Rain stories at Wion, Polar Rain news, Polar Rain latest news