Multi-wavelength imaging observations of STEVE at Athabasca, Canada

2021-02-08

The scientific community has recently stumbled upon a spectacular atmospheric optical phenomenon known as strong thermal emission velocity enhancement (STEVE). STEVE is distinctly different from traditional aurora and appears as a thin purple ribbon of light in the night sky. STEVE has a continuum nature and often accompanied with green “Picket Fence”. Drs. Sneha Yadav, Kazuo Shiokawa, and Yuichi Otsuka of Division for Ionospheric and Magnetospheric Research report the first multi-wavelength imaging observations of STEVE, in collaboration with Athabasca University and University of Saskatchewan, Canada. The measurements were done using an all-sky imager at Athabasca (magnetic latitude = 61.5°N), Canada, which a part of the Optical Mesosphere Thermosphere Imagers (OMTIs).

Link to the publication: ：https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2020JA028622

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Fig.1 STEVE images in red (left, 630 nm) and green (right, 557.7 nm) auroral emissions.