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Credit & Copyright: Chuck Johnson (Cleary Summit)
Explanation:
In this striking image, a rocket climbs skyward toward an expansive
green auroral display in the
first
launch of 2003 from the University of Alaska's
Poker Flat Research Range.
Recorded on January 27th, the view from Cleary Summit near Fairbanks,
Alaska shows the fiery tracks of both solid fuel
stages of the
Black
Brant IX sounding rocket that lofted
its payload to an altitude of 385 kilometers.
Compared to rockets which launch
payloads to Earth orbit and beyond,
sounding
rockets are small and relatively inexpensive.
They get their generic name from the nautical
term "to sound" which means to take measurements.
Known as
HIBAR
(HIgh Bandwidth Auroral Rocket), this experiment
was designed to measure aurora related
high-frequency plasma waves which may originate thousands of
kilometers above the aurora's visible glow.
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NASA Web Site Statements, Warnings, and Disclaimers
NASA Official: Jay Norris. Specific rights apply.
A service of: LHEA at NASA / GSFC
& Michigan Tech. U.
Based on Astronomy Picture
Of the Day
Publications with keywords: aurora
Publications with words: aurora
See also:
- APOD: 2025 January 7 Á A New Years Aurora and SAR Arc
- APOD: 2024 December 8 Á Aurora around Saturns North Pole
- APOD: 2024 October 16 Á Colorful Aurora over New Zealand
- APOD: 2024 October 13 Á Aurora Timelapse Over Italian Alps
- Northern Lights, West Virginia
- Aurora Australis and the International Space Station
- APOD: 2024 June 26 Á Timelapse: Aurora, SAR, and the Milky Way