Meet the latest cosmic mystery catching scientists' attention: weird gray patches photobombing the Northern Lights! While most of us know auroras for their dazzling greens and reds, these ghostly gray intruders have been crashing the celestial party, leaving researchers scratching their heads.
University of Calgary scientists, armed with a new high-resolution observatory, think they're onto something. These ethereal patches might be related to another atmospheric oddball nicknamed "STEVE" (yes, really – it stands for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement). The mysterious patches, spanning tens to hundreds of kilometers, appear to emerge when something within active auroras releases heat, triggering unknown chemical reactions that emit a continuous spectrum of light.
"You'd see this dynamic green aurora, you'd see some of the red aurora in the background and, all of a sudden, you'd see this structured – almost like a patch – grey-toned or white toned-emission connected to the aurora," said Univ. of Calgary physicist Emma Spanswick, suggesting this could represent an entirely new atmospheric process.
Pictured above: Images of the aurora borealis showing the structured continuum emission