Auroras will get a CT scan, Nasa will fly rockets into them. Here's why

Nasa is about to fly two rockets straight into the heart of the northern lights to perform what scientists call a medical-style scan of the sky.

While we often view auroras as silent, colourful light shows, they are actually massive electrical circuits connecting Earth to the deep reaches of space.

Auroras, commonly known as northern lights in the Northern Hemisphere, are shimmering displays of colourful light in the night sky caused by charged particles from the Sun colliding with gases in Earth's atmosphere.

A daring mission from Alaska now aims to map the invisible plumbing that keeps these lights flickering.

HOW DO THE NORTHERN LIGHTS WORK?

The aurora is powered by a flow of electrons from space, much like electricity running through a wire to light a bulb.

But electricity must travel in a complete loop. While we can see the energy coming in, the return journey is a mess of chaotic, winding paths.

Electrons scatter in all directions as they hit our atmosphere, making it nearly impossible to track where they go next. This mission aims to find that missing piece of the puzzle.

WHY IS A CT SCAN HAPPENING IN SPACE?

To get a clear picture, Nasa is launching two rockets side by side from the Poker Flat Research Range in Fairbanks, Alaska. As they soar through the lights, they will eject eight mini-sensors to measure the electrical environment from different angles.

By sending radio signals through the surrounding plasma, scientists can reconstruct a 3D view of the sky, just as a medical CT scan creates a 3D image of a human body.

WHY DOES THIS MATTER TO THE EARTH?

This is not just about solving a physics riddle. The electricity that powers the aurora also heats our upper atmosphere. When the air warms up, it expands, creating space weather that can knock satellites off course or scramble GPS signals.

By learning to read the aurora from the inside, we can better protect the technology we rely on every day.