STEVE, astrange ribbon of purple and green hazediscovered by citizen scientists in 2016, just got even weirder.
STEVEs full name was later put together to fit its acronym.
Scientists were naturally intrigued, so they began investigating the strange aurora-like phenomenon.
STEVE’s twin captured by the all-sky digital camera at the Ramfjordmoen Research Station in Norway.Image: Ramfjordmoen Research Station
STEVE is triggered by the same process, but it travels along different magnetic field lines.
As a result, it can appear at much lower latitudes.
The strangeness of STEVE, however, doesnt end there.
STEVE and the Milky Way at Childs Lake, Manitoba, Canada.Photo: Krista Trinder/ESA
The aurora-like phenomenon appears at dusk when the stream of hot gas moves westward.
Scientists have always wondered if STEVE could have an eastward moving twin that would appear at dawn.
From the data, scientists were able to trace an eastward ion flow in the purple region.
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