Mesoscale structure of flickering aurora from wide-field high-speed imaging

Nanjo, Sota; Kurita, Satoshi; Sergienko, Tima; Miyoshi, Yoshizumi; Kataoka, Ryuho

doi:10.5194/angeo-44-959-2026

Articles | Volume 44, issue 2

https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-44-959-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/angeo-44-959-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 44, issue 2

Regular paper

|

25 Sep 2026

Regular paper |

| 25 Sep 2026

Mesoscale structure of flickering aurora from wide-field high-speed imaging

Sota Nanjo, Satoshi Kurita, Tima Sergienko, Yoshizumi Miyoshi, and Ryuho Kataoka

Data sets

Dataset Open Raw images observed by an sCMOS camera at Poker Flat, Alaska during 06:14–06:44 UT on 8 February 2016 Sota Nanjo and Yoshizumi Miyoshi https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18481501

Raw images observed by an sCMOS camera at Poker Flat, Alaska during 06:45–07:15 UT on 8 February 2016 Sota Nanjo and Yoshizumi Miyoshi https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18537506

OMNI 1-min Data Set Natalia E. Papitashvili and Joseph H. King https://doi.org/10.48322/45bb-8792

Video supplement

Flickering Aurora Observed at Poker Flat Research Range, Alaska, on 8 February 2016 Sota Nanjo https://doi.org/10.5446/72336

Short summary

Using a high-speed camera with a wide view of the sky, we observed rapidly blinking aurora across several hundred kilometers. We found that different parts of the same auroral arc can blink at different rhythms at the same time, and that these rhythms move together with the arc. Although larger bright patches sometimes blink more slowly, this pattern does not hold overall. These results improve our understanding of how invisible space processes shape the visible northern lights.