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Camera Images Aurora Hyperspectrally

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The first-ever hyperspectral pictures of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, revealed a previously unknown atmospheric phenomenon.

The Norusca II hyperspectral camera was tested in late January at the Kjell Henriksen Observatory, where it imaged a major solar flare that jettisoned a burst of high-energy particles known as a coronal mass ejection (CME). This new phenomenon produced magnificent auroras—nature’s celestial fireworks—when it eventually slammed into the Earth’s magnetic field.

“Our new all-sky camera opens up new frontiers of discovery and will help in the detection of auroras and the understanding of how our sun impacts the atmosphere here on Earth,” said Fred Sigernes of the University Center in Svalbard.


The aurora as seen as a color composite image from the Norusca II camera. Three bands were combined to make the image. Each band was assigned a different color — red, green and blue — to enhance the features of the aurora for analysis. The research from the University Center in Svalbard could help scientists to better understand how the sun impacts the Earth’s atmosphere. Courtesy of Optics Express.

The space-weather researchers imaged the aurora with unprecedented clarity through a layer of low-altitude clouds, which would have thwarted earlier-generation instruments. The camera also revealed something unexpected: a very faint wave pattern of unknown origin in the lower atmosphere. The wave pattern resembles “airglow” — the natural emission of light by Earth’s atmosphere. Airglow can be produced by a variety of known sources, including chemical reactions and cosmic rays striking the upper atmosphere.

“After the January CME, we think we saw an auroral-generated wave interaction with airglow,” Sigernes said. This would be an entirely new phenomenon and, if confirmed, would be the first time airglow has been associated with auroras.

“Additional development and commissioning will also hopefully verify our intriguing first results,” he said.


The red arrow points to the unidentified low-intensity wave pattern, which the researchers suspect is an auroral-generated wave interaction with airglow. For contrast, the blue arrow points to the faint emission of the Milky Way. Courtesy of Optics Express.


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Current cameras used to study such atmospheric phenomena collect all the light together into one image; they lack the ability to separately capture and analyze multiple slivers of the visible spectrum. This means that researchers wanting to study specific bands or small portions of an aurora’s spectrum would have to use a series of filters to block out the unwanted wavelengths.

The Norusca II can achieve the same result without any moving parts, using its advanced optics to switch among all of its 41 separate optical bands in a matter of microseconds — orders of magnitude faster than an ordinary camera. This opens up new possibilities for discovery by combining specific bands of the same ethereal phenomenon into one image, revealing previously hidden details. This form of multispectral imaging also will enable scientists to better classify auroras from background sky emissions and study the way they cluster in the atmosphere.


Students perform measurements of the aurora in front of the Kjell Henriksen Observatory in Svalbard, Norway, November 2010. Courtesy of Njaal Gulbarndsen.

“A standard filter wheel camera that typically uses six interference filters will not be able to spin the wheel fast enough compared to the Norusca II camera,” Sigernes said. “This makes the new hyperspectral capability particularly useful for spectroscopy, because it can detect specific atmospheric constituents by their unique fingerprint, or wavelengths, in the light they emit.”

Details on the camera and results of its first images were published in the open-access journal Optics Express.  

For more information, visit: www.unis.no

Published: November 2012
Glossary
hyperspectral imaging
Hyperspectral imaging is an advanced imaging technique that captures and processes information from across the electromagnetic spectrum. Unlike traditional imaging systems that record only a few spectral bands (such as red, green, and blue in visible light), hyperspectral imaging collects data in numerous contiguous bands, covering a wide range of wavelengths. This extended spectral coverage enables detailed analysis and characterization of materials based on their spectral signatures. Key...
multispectral imaging
Multispectral imaging is a technique that involves capturing and analyzing images at multiple discrete spectral bands within the electromagnetic spectrum. Unlike hyperspectral imaging, which acquires data across a continuous range of wavelengths, multispectral imaging is characterized by capturing information at several specific, predefined bands. This allows for the extraction of spectral signatures and information from different parts of the spectrum. Key aspects of multispectral imaging...
photonics
The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The science includes light emission, transmission, deflection, amplification and detection by optical components and instruments, lasers and other light sources, fiber optics, electro-optical instrumentation, related hardware and electronics, and sophisticated systems. The range of applications of photonics extends from energy generation to detection to communications and...
spectral signature
A spectral signature, in the context of remote sensing and spectroscopy, refers to the unique pattern or characteristic spectral response of a material or object across different wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum. Each material interacts with electromagnetic radiation in a specific way, leading to distinctive absorption and reflection patterns at different wavelengths. Analyzing these patterns forms the basis of spectral signature identification. Key points about spectral...
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