Northern Lights Dunes: A New Kind of Aurora Discovered

Dunes of the Northern Lights. It sounds as cool as it looks. Amateur photographers have discovered a new kind of Northern Lights. It is a variation of the Northern Lights and was seen in Finnish Lapland. The first report came in 2018, after which physicists started collecting as much evidence as possible. And they can now say with certainty that the Northern Lights Dunes are different.

Unique collaboration

The collaboration between the enthusiastic Northern Lights spotter and physicists is unique. Research has been conducted into this natural phenomenon for decades, making it extra special to discover something new. 

Many Northern Lights spotters post their photos in the Facebook group of professor of Space Physics Minna Palmroth. He was working on a book about the different shapes of the Northern Lights. The spotters found that he did not describe this shape.

Whereupon he called on them to share as many photos and videos of this unknown form as possible. The video below in particular provided proof for Palmroth. So he described the dunes, because the light moves like the sand from the dunes that floats up. The patterns originate 100 kilometers in the mesosphere. Palmroth has found an explanation for the dunes but needs further research.

I’ve been intrigued by the Northern Lights for years. And have also made several trips to see it. And indeed if you see it more often, it is striking that it is often different. According to experts, various types are already known.

The Northern Lights Arches

Northern light arcs are formed along the direction of the magnetic field. A green stripe in the sky, which usually changes shape slowly. Although it can also go quickly, which is extra nice. The Northern Lights Arch is what you most often see when traveling in northern Europe and Canad

The Northern Lights Curtains

The Northern Lights Curtains, or the dancing curtains, often move quickly in the atmosphere. You see stripes appear and disappear again. This shape can come in different colours, but is usually green.

Northern Lights Corona

The magical Northern Lights Corona is what every tourist wants to see. The magical Northern Lights Corona is right above you and you can see the streaks of the Northern Lights literally disappear everywhere. With this shape, you literally do not know where to look.

This form is rare, but it is the most spectacular. In which you usually see various colors. Including a lot of green and various shades of red / purple. I saw the Northern Lights Corona once and was really quiet about it.

Northern Lights Dunes

The newly discovered dunes are different in shape and how they move. They resemble a row of dunes moving with the wind.

Check out the Northern Lights Dunes: