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Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: Giant "Space Tornadoes" Spark Auroras on Earth


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An aurora borealis (northern lights) rises above Alaska's Denali National Park in 2006. For an April 2009 study, THEMIS satellites (inset) helped reveal how fast-swirling, curving "space tornadoes" wider than Earth itself help "ignite" auroras.

Photograph by M. Scott Moon/AP; illustration courtesy A. Keiling et al/THEMIS/NASA

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