ALIS a multi-eyed voyeur in a plasma universe

The Northern Lights are a visible result of physical processes in inner space. By studying the optical signal from the Northern Lights and similar phenomena, we can gain new knowledge about the physics behind them. In the long run such pure research may be of great importance for applications in our future supply of energy and for future space travel.

A dissertation at Umeå University, Sweden, by researcher Urban Brändström at The Swedish Institute of Space Physics, focuses on the construction and operation of a new land-based metering system, ALIS, designed for optic studies of the Northern Lights and other weak light phenomena. ALIS now consists of six unmanned metering stations placed in a net of squares of about 50 km on a side. Each station is equipped with a light-sensitive CCD camera and a filter wheel with narrow-band filters. It is therefore possible to carry out studies of the different “colors” in the phenomenon observed. Since the stations’ fields of vision overlap, it is also possible to glean information about altitude.

ALIS performed the first unequivocal observations of artificial light emissions at high latitudes. They were generated by a powerful radio transmitter at the EISCAT facility in Tromsø, and they were observed simultaneously by several ALIS stations. This made it possible to obtain altitude profiles for the first time. Experiments of this type thus offer exciting potential for enhanced understanding of the physics of inner space.

Recently ALIS performed observations of a meteor trail in which a preliminary study offers certain evidence that water has been observed in the meteor. ALIS has also been used for studies of Polar Stratospheric Clouds, which are seen as having a close connection to the deterioration of the ozone layer.

Media Contact

Rick McGregor alfa

More Information:

http://www.irf.se

All latest news from the category: Physics and Astronomy

This area deals with the fundamental laws and building blocks of nature and how they interact, the properties and the behavior of matter, and research into space and time and their structures.

innovations-report provides in-depth reports and articles on subjects such as astrophysics, laser technologies, nuclear, quantum, particle and solid-state physics, nanotechnologies, planetary research and findings (Mars, Venus) and developments related to the Hubble Telescope.

Back to home

Comments (0)

Write a comment

Newest articles

Lighting up the future

New multidisciplinary research from the University of St Andrews could lead to more efficient televisions, computer screens and lighting. Researchers at the Organic Semiconductor Centre in the School of Physics and…

Researchers crack sugarcane’s complex genetic code

Sweet success: Scientists created a highly accurate reference genome for one of the most important modern crops and found a rare example of how genes confer disease resistance in plants….

Evolution of the most powerful ocean current on Earth

The Antarctic Circumpolar Current plays an important part in global overturning circulation, the exchange of heat and CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere, and the stability of Antarctica’s ice sheets….

Partners & Sponsors