New Type of Aurora Called ‘The Dunes’ Documented

davidwr writes: Remember the aurora-that-wasn’t called STEVE from last April? Well, amateur stargazers in Finland are at it again. This time it’s for a new kind of aurora dubbed “the dunes.” These new aurora are thought to be an example of a “mesosphereic bore” in which oxygen is exited by the solar wind or possibly gravity waves. The original paper can be found at here. News of it can be found at ScienceAlert, Live Science, and probably elsewhere. The researchers say the dunes emerge at an altitude of about 62 miles in the upper reaches of the mesosphere, and are visible simultaneously from different locations in Finland and Sweden. The University of Helsinki has posted a video of the new type of Aurora Borealis on their YouTube channel.