"STEVE is caused by a 25 km (16 mi) wide ribbon of hot plasma at an altitude of 450 km (280 mi), with a temperature of 3,000 °C (3,270 K; 5,430 °F) and flowing at a speed of 6 km/s (3.7 mi/s) (compared to 10 m/s (33 ft/s) outside the ribbon)." The name for this new atmospheric phenomenon is known by the acronym “STEVE,” which stands for: Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement. There is, however, another atmospheric light show that you may be less familiar with: STEVE. As Phil Darlington explains, a … Finally, they are answering some of their questions, and it turns out STEVE … Steve is an atmospheric optical phenomenon, which appears as a light ribbon in the sky, discovered in 2017 by aurora watchers. According to analysis of satellite data from the European Space Agency's Swarm mission, STEVE is caused by a 25 km (16 mi) wide ribbon of hot plasma at an altitude of 450 km (280 mi), with a temperature of 3,000 Â°C (3,270 K; 5,430 Â°F) and flowing at a speed of 6 km/s (3.7 mi/s) (compared to 10 m/s (33 ft/s) outside the ribbon). Proper noun . The aurora enthusiasts have named it Steve.It has garnered the attention of researchers at the European Space … A bunch of citizen scientists and aurora photographers in Canada have discovered an atmospheric phenomenon that scientists know little about. Extreme ultraviolet radiation and X-rays from the sun bombard these upper regions of t… Receive mail from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors? STEVE — or Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement— is an atmospheric phenomenon that appears as a purple and green light ribbon in the sky. NY 10036. Ratzlaff was referring to an atmospheric optical phenomenon that appears as reddish and green light in the sky. Please refresh the page and try again. [4], STEVE has been observed by auroral photographers for decades,[3] with some evidence to suggest that observations may have been recorded as early as 1705. 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. [14], STEVE may be spotted closer to the equator than the aurora,[15] and as of March 2018 has been observed in the United Kingdom, Canada, Alaska, northern U.S. states, and New Zealand. She also included GPS coordinates from Vimy, Alberta, that helped Donovan link the data to identify the phenomenon. Sightings of picket-fence aurora have been made without observations of STEVE. Find Northern Lights Atmospheric Phenomenon Steve Which stock images in HD and millions of other royalty-free stock photos, illustrations and vectors in the Shutterstock collection. Short for Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement, this strange aurora has puzzled scientists for years. Alberta Aurora Chasers capture STEVE, the new-to-science upper atmospheric phenomenon, on the evening of April 10, 2018 in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. But, for the sake of keeping the conversation going, she and her colleagues dubbed the mysterious force a "sky glow.". New research into a strange atmospheric effect known as STEVE has failed to associate its enigmatic lights with aurora, pointing to the presence of an entirely new type of atmospheric phenomenon. [17], A study published in March 2018 by Elizabeth A MacDonald and other co-authors in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances suggested that STEVE accompanies a subauroral ion drift (SAID),[18] a fast-moving stream of extremely hot particles. New research into a strange atmospheric effect known as STEVE has failed to associate its enigmatic lights with aurora, pointing to the presence of an entirely new type of atmospheric phenomenon. is in need of attention I checked Wikipedia's Steve (atmospheric phenomenon); Occurrence and cause which says: Occurrence and cause. It has garnered the attention of researchers at the European Space Agency (ESA), NASA, and other institutions. Now, scientists understand that the elements of a STEVE originate from two distinct atmospheric phenomenon, writes Toshi Nishimura, a space physicist at … To photographers and stargazers in northern climes, Steve has been a familiar night phenomenon for decades. The mysterious, aurora-like phenomenon called STEVE just got a little weirder. STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that appears as a purple and green light ribbon in the sky, named in late 2016 by aurora watchers from Alberta, Canada. The STEVE phenomenon was discovered in 2016 by citizen scientists in western Canada and the aurora-like phenomenon has long been a mystery for scientists. Last year, they noticed a phenomenon showing up in some pictures: a purplish ribbon in the sky. Photo: Elfiehall via Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0 In July of last year, there was a thin trail of purple light that was witnessed streaking across the sky in northern Canada. More observations taken at different levels of the atmosphere will be required to fully tease out the causes of that mystery of mysteries — good old Steve. Thank you for signing up to Live Science. Fellow Aurora Chaser Robert Downie kneels in the foreground while photographer Ryan Sault captures the narrow ribbon of white-purple hues overhead. The streaks: A new unknown feature of STEVE Auroras tend to be a mixture of hues caused by energetic particles raining down through the upper atmosphere. The ionosphere consists of three sections within the mesosphere and thermosphere, labeled the D, E and F layers, according to the UCAR Center for Science Education. Source. Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. 1 / 33. [4], STEVE often, although not always, is observed above a green, "picket-fence" aurora. Newly-Observed Atmospheric Phenomenon Named "Steve" Miss Cellania • Tuesday, April 25, 2017 at 12:00 AM. You will receive a verification email shortly. Meet Steve, a newly discovered atmospheric phenomenon that’s so strange it still doesn’t have a formal scientific description, hence the placeholder name. Sprites, UFOs, Steves and other atmospheric phenomenon that mystify. The recently-discovered atmospheric glow known as STEVE took the sky-gazing world by storm when it first appeared. [21] The study also showed these phenomena appear in both hemispheres simultaneously. (Image: © Ryan Sault / Alberta Aurora Chasers). Known by the acronym STEVE, it's 280 miles above Earth. ‘Steve’ is a band of ghostly lights clearly visible from East to West, all the way from the banks of Hudson Bay to the fjords of British Columbia. [6] When physics professor Eric Donovan from the University of Calgary saw their photographs, he suspected that was not the case because proton auroras are not visible. WASHINGTON—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. And that's the cool thing.". ", Given its coincidence with the northern lights, Steve was just thought to be part of the aurora — the shimmering sheets of nighttime color that appear in the sky when charged plasma particles streak out of the sun, sail across space on solar winds and jolt down Earth's magnetic field toward the planet's poles. The green bars in the picket fence are moving more slowly than the structures in the purple emissions, and some scientists have speculated they could be caused by turbulence in the charged particles from space. “I don't think this story would have had the legs it has if we'd given it a more scientific name,” confesses Chris Ratzlaff. The Alberta Aurora Chasers Facebook group shares pictures its members take of the Northern Lights. Future US, Inc. 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, At about 200 miles (300 km) above Earth, the air inside Steve blazed about 5,500 degrees Fahrenheit (3,000 degrees Celsius) hotter than the air on each side, and moved about 500 times faster. Writing in the journal Science Advances in March, researchers (including Gallardo-Lacourt) decided to keep the name "Steve" as the official nomenclature for the colorful happening, but they changed it to an acronym standing for "Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement" — aka STEVE. [17] In August 2018, researchers determined that the phenomenon's skyglow was not associated with particle precipitation (electrons or ions) and, as a result, could be generated in the ionosphere. Ratzlaff was referring to an atmospheric optical phenomenon that appears as reddish and green light in the sky. An atmospheric phenomenon has been discovered by citizen scientists and aurora photographers – and so little is known about it right now that they’ve named it Steve. The phenomenon is not rare, but had not previously been investigated. However, a new study published today (Aug. 20) in the journal Geophysical Research Letters suggests that such a simple explanation might not apply. On March 28, 2018, Steve again appeared in the skies of northern Canada and happened to fall within the sight of both ground- and sky-based recording equipment. But the mysterious ribbons of light only entered the scientific literature for the first time earlier this year, thanks largely to Steve-tracking efforts coordinated by Facebook groups like the Alberta Aurora Chasers. Visit our corporate site. The name “Steve” is a nod to the 2006 animated film “Over the Hedge,” in which its characters chose “Steve” as a benign name for something unknown. Trying to decide if the unanswered question What was Steve?Is it called something else now? Credit: Ryan Sault. This band of hot, surging gas was about 16 miles (25 km) wide. A later 2019 study determined that the STEVE’s mauve streak and green picket fence are actually a result of two distinct phenomena from two separate processes. A New Atmospheric Phenomenon Called Steve Kaushik Patowary Jun 12, 2017 0 comments For the past three years, members of a Facebook group called the Alberta Aurora Chasers , consisting of photographers who exchange tips and images of the famed northern lights, have been capturing images of a gorgeous arc of light across the sky. Late at night on July 25, 2016, a thin river of purple light slashed through the skies of northern Canada in an arc that seemed to stretch hundreds of miles into space. The ‘rain’ strikes atoms, ions, and … Turbulent eddies and whirls dump some of their energy into the green cannonballs.” This idea may explain their pure color. 25, 2019 — The celestial phenomenon known as STEVE is likely caused by a combination of heating of charged particles in the atmosphere and energetic electrons like … Researchers suspect that it may be the result of some native process in the ionosphere (50 and 600 miles (80 to 1,000 kilometers) above Earth’s surface, just below the planet’smagnetic field). In a recent paper titled "The Mysterious Green Streaks Below Steve," Joshua Semeter of Boston University and a team of researchers examined yet another STEVE phenomenon not reported on before. This photograph of STEVE was taken on May 8, 2016, in Keller, WA, the United States. Sprites, UFOs, Steves and other atmospheric phenomenon that mystify. Receive news and offers from our other brands? This study found that, for all its quirks, Steve seemed to look and act like its more familiar cousin, the aurora borealis. Steve. In late 2016, the backronym "Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement" was adopted. In all fairness, weather balloons are high-altitude, spherically … The phenomenon was discovered in 2016 by citizen scientists in western Canada. [11][12], Robert Lysak, during the fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union in December 2016, suggested "Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement" as a backronym of STEVE,[13] one that has since been adopted by the team at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center studying the phenomenon. For other uses, see, "Introducing Steve - a Newly Discovered Astronomical Phenomenon", "New kind of aurora is not an aurora at all", "Aurora photographers find new night sky lights and call them Steve", "Amateur Sky-Watchers Discover Celestial Phenomenon, Name It 'Steve, "New atmospheric phenomenon named STEVE discovered by aurora watchers", "Meet Steve, a sky phenomenon coming into its own", "Meet 'Steve,' a Totally New Kind of Aurora", "Help NASA Study 'Steve,' a Newfound Aurora Type", "NASA Needs Your Help to Find Steve and Here's How", "New science in plain sight: Citizen scientists lead to the discovery of optical structure in the upper atmosphere", "Steve the odd 'aurora' revealed to be two sky shows in one", "Magnetospheric signatures of STEVE: Implication for the magnetospheric energy source and inter‐hemispheric conjugacy", "Scientists discover what powers celestial phenomenon STEVE", "Aurora Australis with bonus 'picket fence' wows southern lights chasers in Tasmania", "Aurora-chasing citizen scientists help discover a new feature of STEVE", Eric Donovan's presentation at 2017 ESA Earth Explorer Missions Science Meeting, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Steve_(atmospheric_phenomenon)&oldid=989863502, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 21 November 2020, at 13:26. Amateur Skywatchers Spot New Atmospheric Phenomenon Its name is Steve, and it’s more common than you might think. The celestial phenomenon known as STEVE is likely caused by a combination of heating of charged particles in the atmosphere and energetic … Thousands of new, high-quality pictures added every day. Steve, therefore, is not an aurora at all, but something entirely different: a mysterious, largely unexplained phenomenon that the researchers have dubbed a "sky glow. According to a new study, STEVE is not an aurora (visible here in the right corner of the horizon) but something completely new to science. "Based on our results, we assert that STEVE is likely related to an ionospheric process," the researchers wrote in their study, referring to the level of Earth's atmosphere that extends between 50 and 600 miles (80 to 1,000 km) above Earth's surface and sits directly below the planet's magnetic field. Aurora photographers find new night sky lights and call them Steve - BBC News Quote: A group of aurora enthusiasts have found a new type of light in the night sky and named it Steve. The recently-discovered atmospheric glow known as STEVE took the sky-gazing world by storm when it first appeared. Aurora Images: See Breathtaking Views of the Northern Lights, AI system solves 50-year-old protein folding problem in hours, Broken Arecibo telescope collapses, ending an era of alien-hunting, Biblical Goliath may not have been a giant, Mysterious black spot in polar explorer's diary offers gruesome clue to his fate, 20 of the worst epidemics and pandemics in history, Our solar system will disintegrate sooner than we thought, Mystery Settlers Reached 'Step to Americas' Before Vikings, Sprawling 8-mile-long 'canvas' of ice age beasts discovered hidden in Amazon rainforest. Alberta Aurora Chasers capture STEVE, the new-to-science upper atmospheric phenomenon, on the evening of April 10, 2018 in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. Apr 24, 2017, 2:07 pm A bunch of citizen scientists and aurora photographers in Canada have discovered an atmospheric phenomenon that scientists know little about. Find Northern Lights Atmospheric Phenomenon Steve Which stock images in HD and millions of other royalty-free stock photos, illustrations and vectors in the Shutterstock collection. It was a magnificent, mysterious, borderline-miraculous sight, and the group of citizen skywatchers who witnessed it decided to give the phenomenon a fittingly majestic name: "Steve. A diminutive of the male given name Steven and Stephen; also used as a formal male given name. Eric Donovan from the University of Calgary in Canada spotted the … Photo: Elfiehall via Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY-SA 4.0 In July of last year, there was a thin trail of purple light that was witnessed streaking across the sky in northern Canada. Dr. Dr. According to analysis of satellite data from the European Space Agency's Swarm mission, STEVE is caused by a 25 km (16 mi) wide ribbon of hot plasmaat an altitude of 450 km (280 mi), with a temperature of 3,000 °C (3,270 K; 5,430 °F) and flowing at a speed of 6 km/s (3.7 mi/s) (compared to 1… STEVE, however, is a river of hot, turbulent gas that shows up independently of that solar weather. The mysterious ribbon of atmospheric light known as STEVE slashes through the sky over British Columbia, Canada, on April 10, 2018. Now, scientists understand that the elements of a STEVE originate from two distinct atmospheric phenomenon, writes Toshi Nishimura, a space physicist at … ", "Our main conclusion is that STEVE is not an aurora," lead study author Bea Gallardo-Lacourt, a space physicist at the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada, said in a statement. STEVE's mauve streaks occur due to heated charged particles in the atmosphere, whereas the typical auroras were glowing. Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offer. Amateur astronomers have discovered a new type of atmospheric phenomenon and it has been named ‘Steve”. [7] He correlated the time and location of the phenomenon with Swarm satellite data and one of the Alberta Aurora Chasers' photographers, Song Despins, whose photos are not shown on this page. According to the authors, that means Steve is likely not a feature of the aurora but is actually something completely different. The atmospheric phenomenon known as STEVE, appearing as a band of light in the sky. STEVE generally lasts for 20 minutes to an hour. “During strong geomagnetic storms, the plasma river that gives rise to STEVE flows at extreme supersonic velocities. Compared to the northern lights — which tend to shimmer in broad bands of green, blue or reddish light depending on their altitude — Steve is remarkably slim, usually appearing as a single ribbon of purplish-white light. [22], The green emissions seem to be related to eddies in the supersonic flow of charged particles, similar to the eddies seen in a river, which move more slowly than the other water around them. According … This amateur astronomer's photograph, taken on May 8, 2016, in Keller, Washington, was used in the new research about the celestial phenomenon called STEVE. The aurora enthusiasts have named it Steve. Thousands of new, high-quality pictures added every day. They found that the mauve arch occurs when charged particles are heated high up in the earth’s atmosphere. (2016) The atmospheric phenomenon was named for a scene in the film Over the Hedge, in which something unknown (a hedge) is given the name Steve. When a European Space Agency satellite passed directly through Steve in July 2016, instruments on board confirmed that a pipeline of incredibly fast, ridiculously hot gas was slicing through the atmosphere there. (Photo courtesy Vanexus Photography) While looking like a family … "So right now, we know very little about it. The mysterious ribbon of atmospheric light known as STEVE slashes through the sky over British Columbia, Canada, on April 10, 2018. The name “Steve” is a nod to the 2006 animated film “Over the Hedge,” in which its characters chose “Steve” as a benign name for something unknown. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to … For a while, STEVE's origins were elusive. STEVE marks the first observed visual effect accompanying a SAID. The celestial phenomenon known as STEVE is likely caused by a combination of heating of charged particles in the atmosphere and energetic … Contrary to the findings from the Steve study published earlier this year, the satellite did not detect any charged particles raining down toward Earth's magnetic-field lines, indicating that whatever created Steve did not follow the same rules as the solar particles that create the aurora. Steve is so strange that it still doesn’t have a formal description. Stevie (given name) List of people with given name Stephen; This page or section lists people that share the same given name. The name for this new atmospheric phenomenon is known by the acronym “STEVE,” which stands for: Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement. Odd Looking, But Perfectly Safe. Now, new research on the phenomenon suggests that the picket-fence aspect of STEVE is caused by a similar mechanism as the process that results in an aurora. [1], One of the aurora watchers, photographer Chris Ratzlaff,[8][9] suggested the name "STEVE" from Over the Hedge, an animated comedy movie from 2006, in which its characters chose that as a benign name for something unknown. According to a … Move over Boaty McBoatface – a group of aurora enthusiasts have given a newly discovered atmospheric phenomenon the name 'Steve', because ... well what else are we going to call a mysterious glowing light in the sky? New York, This Steve event was photographed May 8, 2016, at Porteau Cove Provincial Park in British Columbia. [Aurora Images: See Breathtaking Views of the Northern Lights], According to researchers at the University of Calgary in Canada and the University of California, Los Angeles, Steve does not contain the telltale traces of charged particles blasting through Earth's atmosphere that auroras do. 24 APRIL 2017. Stay up to date on the coronavirus outbreak by signing up to our newsletter today. [10] Reportage of the heretofore undescribed unusual "aurora" went viral as an example of citizen science on Aurorasaurus. [23], Atmospheric optical phenomenon, which appears as a light ribbon in the sky, "STEVE" redirects here. There was a problem. [5] However, the first accurate determination of what STEVE is was not made until after members of a Facebook group called Alberta Aurora Chasers named it, attributed it to a proton aurora, and called it a "proton arc". What causes these ghostly lights is still a … This is not a CAUSE, ...it is merely a description. Before you assume Steve is named … A light pillar is an atmospheric optical phenomenon, which is caused by the reflection of light from ice crystals in cold weather. The atmospheric phenomenon known as STEVE, appearing as a band of light in the sky. What this ribbon lacks in girth, it makes up for in length; unlike the wavy northern lights, Steve appears to stab straight upward into the night sky, often spanning more than 600 miles (1,000 kilometers). What could that something be? Meet Steve—a strange … Meet Steve, a newly discovered atmospheric phenomenon that’s so strange it still doesn’t have a formal scientific description, hence the placeholder name. The beautiful atmospheric phenomenon “Steve” was first documented by a Facebook Group last year. STEVE was not observed from October 2016 to February 2017, or from October 2017 to February 2018, leading NASA to believe that STEVE may only appear in certain seasons. Meet "Steve," a previously little-known atmospheric phenomenon related to the aurora borealis. [19][20] Although the picket-fence aurora is created through precipitation of electrons, they appear outside the auroral oval and so their formation is different from traditional aurora. MIKE MCRAE. The celestial phenomenon known as STEVE is likely caused by a combination of heating of charged particles in the atmosphere and energetic electrons like … While looking like a family member of … [1][2][3] In August 2018, researchers determined that the phenomenon's skyglow was not associated with particle precipitation (electrons or ions) and, as a result, could be generated in the ionosphere. STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement) is an atmospheric optical phenomenon that appears as a purple and green light ribbon in the sky, named in late 2016 by aurora watchers from Alberta, Canada. If there is one thing social media teaches us today, it's not to leave naming rights up to the hive mind. Several distinct layers make up Earth's atmosphere, including the mesosphere, which starts 31 miles (50 km) up, and the thermosphere, which starts at 53 miles (85 km) up. The major structures are two bands of upper atmospheric emissions 100 … [16] STEVE appears as a very narrow arc extending for hundreds or thousands of miles, aligned east–west. 1 / 33. An Upper Atmospheric Discovery Named STEVE Captured unknowingly by scientific instruments for years, a sky phenomenon is finally brought to … In the new University of Calgary study, Gallardo-Lacourt and her colleagues decided to use the data recorded that night to further investigate Steve's mysterious origins. © Steve is definitely created in the ionosphere, Nishimura’s team reports, but the purple slither doesn’t appear to be an aurora, which is defined as light emissions caused by energetic electrons. Steve (atmospheric phenomenon), a humorously named atmospheric glow; Steve; See also. As of March 2018, STEVE has only been spotted in the presence of an aurora. A new and strange atmospheric phenomenon is being seen in the skies around the world. For now, the mysterious atmospheric phenomenon will continue to be known as Steve, until Eric Donovan and his colleagues come up with a better name, along with an explanation, which they are working on. Apr. Reblogged this on Tallbloke's Talkshop and commented: Quote: ‘STEVE is a recently identified atmospheric phenomenon caused by supersonic plasma jets flowing at altitudes >100 km.’ Scientists continue to wrestle with its electromagnetic mysteries. For their new study, the team combined images taken by a network of ground-based cameras with data collected from one of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites, which were equipped with instruments capable of detecting charged particles descending through Earth's atmosphere. An atmospheric phenomenon has been discovered by citizen scientists and aurora photographers — and so little is known about it right now that they've named it Steve.