Normally busy with observing high-energy black holes, supernovas and neutron stars, ESA’s Integral space observatory recently had the chance to look back at our own planet’s aurora. As energetic particles from the Sun are drawn along Earth’s magnetic field, they collide with different molecules and atoms in the atmosphere to create dynamic, colourful light shows in the sky, typically in green and red. But what may be less well known is that auroras also emit X-rays, generated as the incoming particles decelerate. Integral detected high-energy auroral X-rays on 10 November 2015 as it turned to Earth – although it was looking for something else at the time.
Full story here:http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Space_Science/Integral_X-rays_Earth_s_aurora
What is an Aurora?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aurora
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