Linking Solar Minimum, Space Weather, and Night Sky Brightness

TL;DR

This study analyzes broadband night sky brightness variations during a deep solar minimum, revealing significant sources of variability not directly linked to solar flux, with implications for astronomy and space weather understanding.

Contribution

It provides new time series observations showing previously unrecognized night sky brightness variations during solar minimum, linked to Earth's magnetic field and solar wind interactions.

Findings

Night sky brightness varies significantly during solar minimum.

Semiannual variations correlate with Earth's magnetic orientation.

Solar wind streams coincide with brightness increase events.

Abstract

This paper presents time series observations and analysis of broadband night sky airglow intensity 4 September 2018 through 30 April 2020. Data were obtained at 5 sites spanning more than 8500 km during the historically deep minimum of Solar Cycle 24 into the beginning of Solar Cycle 25. New time series observations indicate previously unrecognized significant sources of broadband night sky brightness variations, not involving corresponding changes in the Sun's 10.7cm solar flux, occur during deep solar minimum. Even during a deep solar minimum the natural night sky is rarely, if ever, constant in brightness. Changes with time scales of minutes, hours, days, and months are observed. Semiannual night sky brightness variations are coincident with changes in the orientation of Earth's magnetic field relative to the interplanetary magnetic field. Solar wind plasma streams from solar coronal holes arriving at Earth's bow shock nose are coincident with major night sky brightness increase events. Sites more than 8500 km along the Earth's surface experience nights in common with either very bright or very faint night sky airglow emissions. The reason for this observational fact remains an open question. It is plausible, terrestrial night airglow and geomagnetic indices have similar responses to the solar energy input into Earth's magnetosphere. Our empirical results contribute to a quantitative basis for understanding and predicting broadband night sky brightness variations. They are applicable in astronomical, planetary science, space weather, light pollution, biological, and recreational studies.