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Mysterious flashes of light spotted on Earth by NASA camera finally explained
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ASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera onboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, is about a million miles from Earth, and it has been capturing strange light bursts reflecting off the planet’s surface that appear over both land and water, according to a NASA press release.
Astronomer Carl Sagan first noticed flashes of light in 1993.
Researchers found 866 glints in images taken from the DSCOVR spacecraft between June 2015 and August 2016, and theorized that they were caused by reflected sunlight.
Under the laws of reflection, the bursts had to be limited to certain spots. The angle between the Sun and Earth should be the same as the angle between Earth and the spacecraft, to allow the reflected light to be picked up.
When the locations of the glints were plotted out, they matched the angles.
Researchers further discovered that the source of the reflection appeared to be ice crystals in high-altitude cirrus clouds. Sunlight would bounce off horizontally-oriented particles and create the bright flashes.
With that mystery solved, the researchers are now looking to study the ice crystals, in the hopes of determining whether they have an impact on how much light passes through the atmosphere.
RUNDOWN SHOWS:
1. Flashes of light seen on space photographs of Earth
2. NASA satellite captured 866 light bursts between June 2015 to August 2016
3. Flashes limited to spots on the globe where the angle between the sun and earth are the same as the angle between earth and DSCOVR
4. Flashes were sunlight reflecting off horizontal ice particles in high atmosphere cirrus clouds
VOICEOVER (in English):
“A NASA camera about a million miles from Earth has been capturing strange light bursts reflecting off the planet’s surface, appearing over both land and water.”
“Researchers found more than 800 glints in images taken from the DSCOVR spacecraft between June 2015 and August 2016, and theorized that they were caused by reflected sunlight.”
“The bursts were limited to certain spots, where the angle between the Sun and Earth is the same as the angle between Earth and the spacecraft, allowing the reflected light to be picked up.”
“The source of the reflection appeared to be ice crystals in high-altitude cirrus clouds. Sunlight would bounce off horizontally-oriented particles and create the bright flashes.”
SOURCES:
Geophysical Research Letters, NASA
***
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Europe: +44 20 7542 7599
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------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next Animation Studio’s News Direct service provides daily, high-quality, informative 3D news animations that fill in for missing footage and help viewers understand breaking news stories or in-depth features on science, technology, and health.
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ASA’s Earth Polychromatic Imaging Camera onboard the Deep Space Climate Observatory, or DSCOVR, is about a million miles from Earth, and it has been capturing strange light bursts reflecting off the planet’s surface that appear over both land and water, according to a NASA press release.
Astronomer Carl Sagan first noticed flashes of light in 1993.
Researchers found 866 glints in images taken from the DSCOVR spacecraft between June 2015 and August 2016, and theorized that they were caused by reflected sunlight.
Under the laws of reflection, the bursts had to be limited to certain spots. The angle between the Sun and Earth should be the same as the angle between Earth and the spacecraft, to allow the reflected light to be picked up.
When the locations of the glints were plotted out, they matched the angles.
Researchers further discovered that the source of the reflection appeared to be ice crystals in high-altitude cirrus clouds. Sunlight would bounce off horizontally-oriented particles and create the bright flashes.
With that mystery solved, the researchers are now looking to study the ice crystals, in the hopes of determining whether they have an impact on how much light passes through the atmosphere.
RUNDOWN SHOWS:
1. Flashes of light seen on space photographs of Earth
2. NASA satellite captured 866 light bursts between June 2015 to August 2016
3. Flashes limited to spots on the globe where the angle between the sun and earth are the same as the angle between earth and DSCOVR
4. Flashes were sunlight reflecting off horizontal ice particles in high atmosphere cirrus clouds
VOICEOVER (in English):
“A NASA camera about a million miles from Earth has been capturing strange light bursts reflecting off the planet’s surface, appearing over both land and water.”
“Researchers found more than 800 glints in images taken from the DSCOVR spacecraft between June 2015 and August 2016, and theorized that they were caused by reflected sunlight.”
“The bursts were limited to certain spots, where the angle between the Sun and Earth is the same as the angle between Earth and the spacecraft, allowing the reflected light to be picked up.”
“The source of the reflection appeared to be ice crystals in high-altitude cirrus clouds. Sunlight would bounce off horizontally-oriented particles and create the bright flashes.”
SOURCES:
Geophysical Research Letters, NASA
***
For technical and editorial support, please contact:
Asia: +61 2 93 73 1841
Europe: +44 20 7542 7599
Americas and Latam: +1 800 738 8377
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Next Animation Studio’s News Direct service provides daily, high-quality, informative 3D news animations that fill in for missing footage and help viewers understand breaking news stories or in-depth features on science, technology, and health.
To subscribe to News Direct or for more info, please visit:
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