Research published in February detailed how a strange dent in Earth’s magnetic field is messing with things over the southern Atlantic Ocean.
The Southern Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) isn’t a new discovery; it’s a weak oval-shaped chunk of our magnetic field over the South Atlantic and over South America that allows charged particles from the Sun to come close to the surface of the planet, according to NASA. Satellites within the region are exposed to very high levels of ionizing radiation.
New data published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters suggests this area also interferes with the southern auroras. Similarly to the northern lights, the southern aurora are glowing lights within the upper atmosphere that can be seen around Antarctica. They’re created by solar particles interacting with gases in our atmosphere, which was initially presumed to be a one-way relationship, where the auroras were dependent on the Sun.
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But the new research “highlights the significance of Earth-related factors, such as anomalies in Earth’s intrinsic magnetic fields that rotate with the Earth,” study author Zhi-Yang Liu claimed in an email to Live Science. Where the aurora overlaps with the SAA, scientists found a “substantial weakening” of the magnetic fluctuations. (RELATED: Video Appears To Show ‘UFO’ Flying By Air Force One At Los Angeles International Airport)
This weakening may be so significant that it can be observed with the naked eye, Liu noted. Future research seeks to ascertain the feedback effect this has on our planet. Researchers are also hoping to see if the same thing happens on other planets.