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A Large Satellite-Based Survey of the Aurora.
The halo referred to
above is called the "auroral oval". It is the dynamic band that divides the
Earth's magnetic field lines into two categories: the ones near the magnetic
poles, which are connected to the solar wind ("open field lines"), and those
that come out of the southern part of the Earth and return to the northern
hemisphere Earth ("closed field lines"). Scientists at JHU/APL have carried
out a massive survey of the individual auroral arcs that make up the oval.
As is usual in scientific research, some results were as expected and some
were surprising.
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