National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Giant Atmospheric Crashes Detected via Auroras


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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