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Lopsided lights

Auroras in Northern Hemisphere not always a mirror image of those over Antarctica

By Sid Perkins

- More than 2 years ago

The serendipitous observations of two Earth-orbiting satellites, one passing high over the North Pole while the other whizzed over Antarctica, have revealed that Earth’s auroras aren’t symmetrical.

NOT LIKE THE OTHER As seen in this depiction of Earth’s auroras on May 12, 2001, the northern lights (left) aren’t a mirror image of the southern lights.