Images Dated 2001 January

Us-Magnetic Field

This picture is a false color image of the transparent, electrified gas (plasma) trapped inside Earth's magnetic field taken by NASA's Imager for Magnetopause to Aurora Global Exploration (IMAGE) spacecraft on 11 August, 2000. The IMAGE spacecraft is looking down at the Earth from above the north pole, and the globe or sphere in the center represents the position and size of the Earth. The image (top) is the ultraviolet glow from relatively cold plasma as seen by the Extreme Ultraviolet imager (EUV) instrument on board IMAGE. A hook-shaped "tail" of plasma streaming toward the Sun can be seen at the top left of the picture. Note also the small, faint circle near the center of the image - this is the ultraviolet glow from the aurora, also known as the northern lights. AFP PHOTO/NASA
/ AFP PHOTO / NASA

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