2023-12-15 09:49:20
A phenomenon that lasts less than a second, but which intrigues scientists. Indeed, the green ghost has always been a mystery to these specialists. But they finally found an answer to explain this spectacle of nature.
Oklahoma, from 2019. A scientist observed the famous “green ghost” for the first time. These green swirls are very difficult to analyze. Indeed, this phenomenon is invisible to the eye naked in the majority of cases. In addition, you have to be attentive to be able to observe it. But the show will be there, because the green ghost appears in the middle of red lightning. And in September 2019Spanish scientists managed to immortalize this moment.
“Transient light events”
Scientists waited days to capture this “green ghost”. In fact, it is necessary several conditions for having a favorable storm to the development of this phenomenon. But eventually, they managed to get clear shots.
Spanish researchers were quick to analyze their photos. They studied the wavelengths of the “green ghost”. After some scientific discussions, these specialists released a surprising conclusion.
These green ripples are classified in the category of “transient light events”. And this phenomenon was already explained in the 80s. We then have the blue jets, red lightning, and now the green ghost. However, the latter only lasts a few milliseconds. It took a spectrographic camera to analyze it.
“They are exceptionally rare, with only one in 100 Sprites developing a green ghost,” Maria Passas Varo, one of the scientists who led the study.
“Atypical” Northern Lights
By analyzing the photos, the researchers discovered a small similarity with well-known light phenomena. Indeed, the “green ghost” contains excited oxygen molecules. These are the origin of the Northern Lights.
Researchers from the University of Alaska gave an interesting argument. According to their study, this phenomenon is secondary to a electrical excitation at 90 km in the atmosphere. This conclusion also explains the time of appearance of the “green ghost”: during storms, in the middle of red lightning.
Furthermore, these undulations are also composed of fer. And this discovery intrigued scientists. This metal comes from space, and not from the earth’s soil. They highlighted the presence of nitrogen, silicon, sulfur, and nickel.
The researchers’ conclusion was very surprising. According to their study, the components of the “green ghost” come from space. These elements are constantly in contact with the upper part of our atmosphere. In some cases, they come into contact with thunderstorms.
A door to other scientific discoveries
For researchers, this discovery is only a first step. Indeed, they can expand their study area to better explore space particles. However, other data still need to be collected to facilitate this research. And the first step is to capture this “green ghost” again. Let’s hope that new technologies will facilitate this crucial step.
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