Scientists thought 'Steve' was a new aurora. Turns out it isn't.

Named “Steve,” the swathes of purple light filling skies over Regina, Canada, spurred plenty of intrigue when discovered by citizen scientists.

The lights, the likes of which locals had never seen before, were understood by scientists to be a new aurora. Or so they thought.

Turns out “Steve,” which stands for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, is no aurora. It’s an entirely new celestial phenomenon, with a different atmospheric process to an aurora.

The conclusion was made by researchers from the University of Calgary in Canada, who authored a study which was published in Geophysical Research Letters.  Read more…

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Source: Mashable | Scientists thought 'Steve' was a new aurora. Turns out it isn't.