Scientists Discover What Powers Celestial Phenomenon STEVE (phys.org) 51
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.Org: The celestial phenomenon known as STEVE is likely caused by a combination of heating of charged particles in the atmosphere and energetic electrons like those that power the aurora, according to new research. In a new study, scientists found STEVE's source region in space and identified two mechanisms that cause it. Last year, the obscure atmospheric lights became an internet sensation. Typical auroras, the northern and southern lights, are usually seen as swirling green ribbons spreading across the sky. But STEVE is a thin ribbon of pinkish-red or mauve-colored light stretching from east to west, farther south than where auroras usually appear. Even more strange, STEVE is sometimes joined by green vertical columns of light nicknamed the "picket fence."
Authors of a new study published in AGU's journal Geophysical Research Letters analyzed satellite data and ground images of STEVE events and conclude that the reddish arc and green picket fence are two distinct phenomena arising from different processes. The picket fence is caused by a mechanism similar to typical auroras, but STEVE's mauve streaks are caused by heating of charged particles higher up in the atmosphere, similar to what causes light bulbs to glow. "Aurora is defined by particle precipitation, electrons and protons actually falling into our atmosphere, whereas the STEVE atmospheric glow comes from heating without particle precipitation," said Bea Gallardo-Lacourt, a space physicist at the University of Calgary and co-author of the new study. "The precipitating electrons that cause the green picket fence are thus aurora, though this occurs outside the auroral zone, so it's indeed unique."
Authors of a new study published in AGU's journal Geophysical Research Letters analyzed satellite data and ground images of STEVE events and conclude that the reddish arc and green picket fence are two distinct phenomena arising from different processes. The picket fence is caused by a mechanism similar to typical auroras, but STEVE's mauve streaks are caused by heating of charged particles higher up in the atmosphere, similar to what causes light bulbs to glow. "Aurora is defined by particle precipitation, electrons and protons actually falling into our atmosphere, whereas the STEVE atmospheric glow comes from heating without particle precipitation," said Bea Gallardo-Lacourt, a space physicist at the University of Calgary and co-author of the new study. "The precipitating electrons that cause the green picket fence are thus aurora, though this occurs outside the auroral zone, so it's indeed unique."
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Celestial Phenomenon STEVE sounds like an anime.
I had to look it up (thanks Editors). From the Wikipedia page for Steve [wikipedia.org]:
One of the aurora watchers, photographer Chris Ratzlaff, [7][8] suggested the name "Steve" from Over the Hedge [wikipedia.org], an animated comedy movie from 2006, in which its characters chose that name for something unknown. [9]
(sigh)
STEVE! (Score:1)
Wot it Iz (Score:2)
FYI: "Steve is an atmospheric optical phenomenon which appears as a purple and green light ribbon in the sky, formally discovered in late 2016 by aurora watchers from Alberta, Canada."
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So, what the hell does STEVE stand for?
Originally, it was just Steve, then they backronymed it to "Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement".
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So, what the hell does STEVE stand for?
I looked it up and posted that here [slashdot.org]
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And here's that [youtube.com] reference.
steve *jobs* in his celestial heaven? moo? (Score:2)
so... they're not searching for scientific evidence that steve jobs now lives in a celestial palace, watching down benevolently upon us all? i'm so glad *that's* cleared up... https://www.cultofmac.com/1857... [cultofmac.com]
Even more interesting, the creation of meaning... (Score:4, Insightful)
From Wikipedia:
A scientist listening to Eric Donovan's presentation at the December, 2016, meeting of the American Geophysical Union suggested "Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement" as a backronym of STEVE, one which has since been adopted by the team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center studying Steve.
It's amusing that by capitalizing STEVE, they have turned a dumb but amusing name into an apparent acronym with some deeper meaning, which one might suppose should be more descriptive. Backronyms are peculiar because they illustrate a cultural fascination that we have with names; we expect a name to be "scientifically" accurate in some sense, and an acronym gives the illusion of such accuracy.
In contrast, when the Romans used the word "aurora" it originally meant "morning" and had no need for a deeper accuracy. It may have come from earlier antecedents, but the real basis of language is that one word can be differentiated from another. The Romans could have called the morning Steve and that would be fine so long as Steve could be differentiated from another word in the proper context. While it is true that Aurora was a goddess, the goddess almost certainly gained the name from the morning, not the morning from the goddess. Subsequently, the use of the word aurora in "aurora borealis" eventually turned it into a kind of technical term. Despite this, "aurora" still rests on the same basis; the real basis of language is not accuracy but difference. Our obsession with acronyms and "scientific" naming in general is a pretense. We like to have a sense that a word is accurate, but in reality all that matters is that it is recognizably different from other words.
We should keep it just as "Steve." It's no more or less appropriate than any other word, and backronymifying it adds nothing substantial, but only the illusion of depth.
I got to see one last year (Score:4)
What powers STEVE? (Score:2)
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Slashdot Must Eliminate Anon Cowards (Score:1)