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Two people in red coats walk towards a row of antennas.

Date Taken:

November 20, 2019

Photograph By:

Mike Lucibella

License Type:

Public Domain

The Super Dual Auroral Radar Network – SuperDARN - at the South Pole is gathering data to analyze how plasma behaves in the Earth’s upper atmosphere.

Solar wind particles from the sun hit the planet’s magnetic field, which focuses them toward the poles where they collide with atmospheric particles, creating the spectacular light effects of the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) and Southern Lights (aurora australis).

While such visual effects may be stunning to watch, such near-Earth atmospheric disturbances from the sun can wreak havoc on electrical grids. Also, radiation from solar flares can affect humans in space or in high altitudes aboard airplanes, as well as disrupt unshielded electronics in satellites.

Space weather is also related to weather in the troposphere – the layer of atmosphere closest to the planet that affects life on Earth – in ways scientists are still trying to understand.

There are a few dozen SuperDARN arrays around the world.

Associated Keywords

ECW, NSF, Parka, Public Domain, SuperDARN

By downloading this image, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of the image license.

This photo is in the public domain.

Photos whose copyright has expired or were taken by government employees as part of their job duties are considered to be in the public domain. Public domain works are not subject to copyright laws. Anyone may download these photos and use them freely, even for commercial purposes.

Attribution is not legally required for public domain photos but is strongly recommended.

This photo is covered by a Creative Commons license. Please see the Usage and Submissions page for more information. Use of this photo requires the following:

(1.) The user must give appropriate credit to the photographer and the National Science Foundation (NSF) and provide a link to the Creative Commons license. (2.) Use of the photo must be for non-commercial purposes only. (3.) No derivative works may be made with the original photo without the explicit permission of the photographer.

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