NASA researchers plan to find out the reason for the existence of two different types of auroras. It is quite possible that they have a different mechanism of formation. In order to find out, two rockets will be launched from a base in Alaska.

Types of auroras
Do you know that there are at least two types of auroras, which are quite different from the uniform glow that sometimes occurs even in regions far enough from the poles. One type is pulsating: brightness changes up to several times per second. The other type flickers with a periodicity of at least 15 flashes per second.
Physicists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center are well aware of this and have already started a program to study this phenomenon with rockets. It’s called GIRAFF (Ground Imaging to Rocket research of Auroral Fast Features) and started in the second half of January 2025. The launches will take place from the Fairbanks base in Alaska
There are two rocket launches proposed in total, which should reach the upper atmosphere and literally fly through the aurora. Each is used to study a particular type of phenomenon.
Separately, there will be one more launch as part of another program that will study so-called black auroras. This type was discovered a few years ago, and now the main problem for scientists is not to confuse them with areas where there is simply no luminescence.
What and how to explore in the aurora
The main question the researchers want to solve regarding the different types of auroras is the mechanism of their occurrence. In other words, it is clear to everyone that in all cases these phenomena represent the glow of gas molecules that have been excited by the hit of electrons. However, there is a suspicion that it is electrons with different energies that are absorbed slightly differently in each case.
Actually, that’s why the main thing the rockets will be investigating is the electron populations under the auroras. It sounds simple, but it’s actually a challenge to realize it. The fact is that this phenomenon is moving relative to the earth all the time, and the speed and direction of its movement is difficult to guess.
Of course, the researchers will be monitoring the sky with cameras the whole time. However, even in Alaska, auroras of the right type don’t occur every day. And a rocket is not a cheap device, it should be ready for launch all the time, and it will take about five minutes to reach the upper atmosphere. Therefore, there is always a chance of missing the target.
According to phys.org