According to NASA, X and C-shaped patterns appear unexpectedly in the upper atmosphere of Earth.
The NASA mission named GOLD, which measures density and temperature in Earth’s thermosphere and ionosphere, has inadvertently discovered mysterious symbols that they describe as appearing “at unexpected times, in some surprising locations.”
However, this is not a message from extraterrestrials.
The ionosphere is the uppermost layer of Earth’s atmosphere, which becomes charged during the day when sunlight hits it. This creates plasma ribbons containing charged particles, further influenced by Earth’s magnetic field.
Plasma ribbons formed in Earth’s atmosphere – (Photo: NASA).
Previous studies have shown that merged plasma peaks can form X-shaped patterns following solar storms and large plasma eruptions.
However, data from the new study, led by ionospheric physicist Fazlul Laskar from the University of Colorado, indicates that these shapes can also form during “quiet periods,” when geomagnetic conditions stabilize and become calmer.
This means that there are other factors contributing to the depiction of these mysterious shapes in the atmosphere – which often take the form of X or C.
Among these, C-shaped plasma storms form relatively close together – only 634 km apart – suggesting that more localized factors are involved, possibly including shear winds, tornadoes, or other phenomena.
Currently, NASA has only recorded 2 mysterious C shapes.
According to a paper published in the scientific journal The Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, further research is needed to determine the nature of these mysterious X and C symbols.
Nonetheless, they are essentially plasma bubbles.
Plasma in the ionosphere is crucial for radio waves to propagate over long distances. Therefore, discoveries in this field enhance our understanding of how radio systems and GPS work, improve telecommunications infrastructure on Earth, and aid in space weather forecasting.
