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Polar Visible Aurora: Low Solar Wind Conditions on May 11, 1999 over the North Pole
On May 11, 1999, the solar wind that blows constantly from the Sun virtually disappeared. Dropping to a small fraction of its normal density and to half its normal speed, the solar wind died down enough to allow physicists to observe particles flowing directly from the Sun's corona to Earth. This severe change in the solar wind also drastically changed the shape of Earth's magnetic field and produced a rare auroral display at Earth's North Pole.

Visible aurora over the North Pole on May 11, 1999 as measured by Polar    Visible aurora over the North Pole on May 11, 1999 as measured by Polar

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Video ID: SVS1999-0029 *
Animator: Greg Shirah
Studio: SVS
Date Completed: December 08, 1999
Duration: 34 frames, 1.133333 seconds
Scientist: David Chenette (LMATC), John B. Sigwarth (University of Iowa), Mike Carlowicz (NASA/GSFC)
Instrument: Polar/VIS
Keywords: Aurora, Solar Wind, Electron Fluxes, Upper Atmosphere
DLESESubject: Space science, Geophysics
Data Collected: 1999/05/11
PAOID: g99-103_space
Animation Series: Polar Aurora



Please give credit for this visualization to NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio


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