High in the upper atmosphere , from the border of space to well within it , there is the ionosphere . Atoms and molecules there are miss electron , so they are electrically charged . They are influenced by what is happen closer to the surface but also by the Sun . unexampled observance intimate that there is more reason to be had , following the discovery of new structure .

The workplace was possible thanks to NASA ’s Global - musical scale Observations of the Limb and Disk ( Au ) mission . It found that there are some peculiar constitution in the ionosphere influence like letters : X and C. These are connected to the previously known phenomena of crests and bubble in theionosphere , space where there is more plasma than others .

The ten - determine structures had been watch over before , believe to be the merging of tip cause by intense activity either from a powerful volcanic eruption or from an increase in the solar wind – the flow of institutionalise particles from the Sun – following solar flares orcoronal mass ejection . GOLD has shown here that X - shaped formations can also happen during placid periods .

“ Earlier reports of merging were only during geomagnetically disturbed precondition — it is an unexpected feature during geomagnetic quiet term , ” direct author Fazlul Laskar , from the University of Colorado ’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics ( LASP ) , state in astatement .

The bearing of hug drug - shape formations in quiet periods imply something else is at work . Computer models hint it could be that churning in the lower atmosphere can really draw down some of the plasma , lead to the merging of the tip into an ecstasy   physique even when there are no major disturbances .

“ The X is unpaired because it imply that there are far more localized drive factors , ” explained Jeffrey Klenzing , a scientist at NASA ’s Goddard Space Flight Center . “ This is expected during the extreme event , but seeing it during ‘ quiet clip ’ suggest that the broken atmosphere action is significantly drive the ionospheric structure . ”

Similarly to the crests , the house of cards also ends up in the shape of a alphabetic character . These bubbles are mostly flimsy and long , follow the magnetized lines of the planet . But some house of cards become curved into a C or overturn C Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe . The summons is trust to be link to planetary wind , even though the ionosphere prolong from 80 klick to 640 kilometers ( 50 to 400 miles ) above ground .

Among the oddity , the squad find plasma bubbles that were implausibly close together , in the range of several hundred klick . This suggests that there is significant turbulence in the ionosphere – it is far from calm .

“ Within that close proximity , these two opposite - shaped plasma bubble had never been thought of , never been imaged , ” said lead author of the employment on the C - mould formations , Deepak Karan , also at LASP .

“ The fact that we have very different shapes of bubble this finis together tell us that the dynamic of the atmosphere is more complex than we await , ” Klenzing added .

Both papers were publish in the Journal of Geophysical Research : Space Physics and can be foundhereandhere .