Large white streak

[arkain101]

On the night of september 30th there was a massive white streak in the sky. It was nearly glowing, if it was not just the reflection from the nothern lights occuring.

 

The streak covered the entire sky from what looked to be Eastwardly to westerly.

 

I dont have any images but thought that lots of other people may have see this strange occurance. It was a sight to behold.

 

 

For the life of me I could not explain what it was. It looked as though the sky was in moments covered by a streak of steam. Was it an ice metoer?

[Tormod]

Most likely a meteor, yes.

[arkain101]

It was the strangest thing I have really ever seen.

 

It was like the northern lights were stuck in a stream. It was glowing brightly lighting the ground.. and it streaked from end to end of the horizen! It looked like a flood light that circled the earth.

 

I am trying to find something about it. Everyone that saw it was blown away staring at it. It remained for about 30mins, then it dissapated.

[arkain101]

It appears that what I happened to witness was a rare type of aurora borealus, or northern lights.

 

It was a flawlessly curved ring that spread from east to east horizon, glowing bright white.

 

Alot like this image below but much straiter and because it was directly overhead it was very large across.

 

 

 

 

How exactly does it act like this? I had no idea magnetic fields acted in this way to cause a swirling ring of particles for nearly 30mins.

 

http://www.northern-lights.no/english/science/hansteen.shtml

 

explains there is a constant ring but this ring was much further south. I am located at 54* 50* and it was directly above. This seems odd.

[arkain101]

well I guess I kind of answered my own question, except the physics of it.

[Tormod]

It appears that what I happened to witness was a rare type of aurora borealus, or northern lights.

 

When you said "white streak" I ruled out auroras, but now I see what you mean. This is absolutely not a rare type at all!

 

I have seen many auroras here in Norway and they mostly look like what the image you posted., although often they will have more vivid shapes.

 

Notice the description at the page you linked:

 

Hansteen was the first to point out that the aurora occurs as a continuous ring around the geomagnetic pole.

 

Thus the ring shape is common, and you see only a tiny part of it, so it stretches from horizon to horizon. The color of the aurora depends on how high it is in the atmosphere - the most common is green, followed by red, which is higher up (higher up = higher energy). Color is actually created when the solar particles interact with the particles in the atmosphere.

 

The auroras are caused by solar particles hitting the geomagnetic field. The particles converge at the poles, but not at the actual polar points - rather at the end points of the magnetic loops that stretch from around the south pole to the north pole.

 

Thus the auroras occur at a "ring" that circles the two poles. These rings wander and can be as far south as Florida in the US. This is related to the strength of the solar blowout.

 

When there is activity at one pole, there is also activity at the other pole.

 

Here is a basic explanation:

http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/happen.html

[arkain101]

When you said "white streak" I ruled out auroras, but now I see what you mean. This is absolutely not a rare type at all!

 

Yes but so still, so smooth, and so consistant. It looked like a light was shinning in the sky for 30mins. I've NEVER see one like that.

 

 

however thanks for reply.