Rare ‘Aurora Curls’ Illuminate Icelandic Night Sky: Photographer Captures Stunning Images of Earth’s Magnetic Dance

A photographer has captured the elusive “aurora curls” phenomenon in the night sky above Iceland. This rare occurrence occurred when Earth’s magnetic shield reverberated like a plucked guitar string in response to a burst of solar wind. The captivating images reveal a single, perfectly undulating streak of green light cutting through the Icelandic night, interrupting the usual display of the aurora. Astrophotographer Jeff Dai, a member of The World at Night (TWAN) project, witnessed and documented this extraordinary event above Kerid, a crater lake in southern Iceland, on January 16.
The aurora, a spectacle generated when energetic solar particles interact with Earth’s magnetic field, typically manifests as swirling lights without a specific pattern. However, the aurora curls are a rare and organized manifestation caused by substantial ripples in the magnetosphere known as ultra-low frequency (ULF) waves. Triggered by the impact of solar wind, these waves can induce the magnetosphere to resonate like a bell, leading to a temporary disruption in the usual auroral display.
In the observed instance, the aurora curls persisted for “several minutes” before vanishing completely, as detailed by Dai on Instagram. ULF waves, usually unseen and detectable only by specialized scientific instruments focused on Earth’s upper atmosphere, became visible due to their pulsations allowing solar radiation to penetrate the magnetosphere. Comparing Earth’s magnetic field to a guitar string, Xing-Yu Li, a ULF wave expert from Peking University, explained that the images depict vibrations in this metaphorical “string.”
The specific type of ULF waves responsible for the aurora curls remains uncertain since scientific equipment did not record the magnetic tremors. Nonetheless, based on visual analysis, Li estimates the wavelength of the magnetic pulsations to be approximately 0.6 miles (1 kilometer). ULF waves, categorized into pulsation irregular (Pi) waves and pulsation continuous (Pc) waves, are more prevalent during periods of heightened solar activity, such as the ongoing solar maximum phase, characterized by increased solar storms and intensified solar wind.
As the sun approaches the climax of its 11-year solar activity cycle, there is a likelihood of more frequent and powerful solar storms, potentially leading to more instances of the mesmerizing aurora curls in the coming years.

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