National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: Giant Atmospheric Crashes Detected via Auroras


Email to a Friend	<< Back to Full Story

In an undated photo, an Advanced Modular Incoherent Scatter Radar unit in Alaska studies atmospheric waves by tracking the motions of charged particles in an aurora.

The radar system can paint a more precise picture of these waves, which are created when air systems crash into mountains, storms, and other obstacles on or just above Earth.

Photograph by Craig Heinselman