CAREER: Revealing the Connection between Pulsating Aurora and the Dynamics of the Inner Magnetosphere

Pulsating aurora occur in large patches across the sky, turning their lit-up patterns on and off. This distinct type of aurora is produced through wave-particle scattering in the equatorial magnetosphere. There are many questions remaining about how this process occurs and how it is related to substorm activity, which the project will address.

The project will support research for an early career female PI and outreach programs targeted at retaining women and under-represented minorities in STEM fields, primarily through a Space Physics & Astronomy Research Kamp (SPARK) for local high school students and through a peer mentorship and recruitment program called Prairie States Partnership in Physics.

The project aims to address three open questions related to pulsating aurorae: (1) What is the basic process that causes the pulsations?; (2) How does the pulsating aurora process tie into substorm activity and radiation belt/ring current dynamics?; and (3) What is the spatial extent of pulsating aurora events and what conditions affect that extent? These questions will be addressed through a creative use of machine learning, ground-based imager observations, and spacecraft data during conjunction times.

The successful closure of these questions will represent a leap forward in our understanding of pulsating aurora and magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.