© Rayann Elzein
"I've been chasing auroras in Arctic Finland for nearly a decade, and this is only the second time I have seen STEVE here at 70 degrees N," says Elzein.
STEVE normally appears at latitudes around +50N to +55N with occasional excursions into the mid 40s and low 60s. Elzein's sighting is almost 20 degrees farther north than usual, a sign that STEVE's habitat may be wider than previously thought.
STEVE is caused by hot (3000°C) ribbons of gas, which flow through Earth's magnetosphere during some geomagnetic storms. There was no geomagnetic storm on Jan. 6th, but a stealthy CME embedded in the solar wind may have stirred these currents anyway.
Comment: STEVE (Strong Thermal Velocity Enhancement) is a relatively recent discovery, first spotted and photographed by Canadian citizen scientists around 10 years ago. It looks like an aurora, but it is not. See also:
- Astronomers studying novel atmospheric plasma phenomenon 'STEVE' publish paper on 'pure green sky canonballs'
- STEVE makes unusual summertime appearance, record breaking solar minimum update
- The phenomenon STEVE is not an Aurora after all
Discoveries like STEVE are just the tip of the ice berg when it comes to the unusual phenomena that reflects the shift occurring on our planet - and even further afield: