Aurora Named STEVE: Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement

In 2018, a new aurora-like discovery struck the world. From 2015 to 2016, citizen scientists reported 30 instances of a purple ribbon in the sky, with a green picket fence structure underneath.

Now named STEVE, or Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, this phenomenon is still new to scientists, who are working to understand all its details.

What they do know is that STEVE is not a normal aurora—some think maybe it's not an aurora at all—and a new finding about the formation of streaks within the structure brings scientists one step closer to solving the mystery.

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Credit: Copyright Neil Zeller, used with permission

Taken July 17, 2018, at Little Kenosee Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada, this photo shows the tiny green streaks below STEVE. Neil Zeller, photographer and co-author on the paper, commented "STEVE was bright and powerful for a full hour that night."

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Credit: Copyright Neil Zeller, used with permission

wo different angles of distinctive green streaks below a STEVE event on Aug. 31, 2016, near Carstairs, Alberta, Canada.

Recent research about the formation of these streaks is allowing scientists to learn more about this aurora-like phenomenon.

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For the first time, scientists have ground and satellite views of STEVE (short for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), a thin purple ribbon of light.

Scientists have now learned, despite its ordinary name, that STEVE may be an extraordinary puzzle piece in painting a better picture of how Earth's magnetic fields function and interact with charged particles in space.