Scientists have released an unprecedented ultraviolet view of Earth captured by the SMILE mission. Its ultraviolet imager detected the full ring of northern lights surrounding the North Pole, revealing how Earth’s magnetosphere responds to streams of charged particles from the Sun. The rippling auroral oval in this footage indicates a magnetic substorm, caused when solar wind compresses Earth’s magnetic field and accelerates energetic particles toward the poles. SMILE can observe these auroral processes continuously for up to 45 hours. MLA Source: European Space Agency. “Smile’s First Ultraviolet Footage Shows Auroral Substorm.” ESA, 30 Sept. 2026. Want more interesting content like this ? Follow gravitonomy :) Via : ESA #esa #smilemission #science #astronomy #earth