Two NASA sounding rockets launched from Poker Flat Research Range north of Fairbanks early Tuesday morning in a mission aimed at learning more about how the aurora affects the upper atmosphere. The two rockets performed as expected, releasing tracer payloads widely visible across central and northern Alaska. Completion of the study awaits launch of a […]
Two NASA aurora research rockets launched from Poker Flat Research Range earlier this month provided good data for learning more about the fastest observable variations of the solar wind-driven light displays. One rocket gathered information about flickering aurora, and the other gathered data about fast-pulsating aurora. Flickering auroras are fast, localized and associated with higher-frequency […]
Three NASA sounding rockets are set to launch from Poker Flat Research Range as early as Tuesday to learn more about three types of aurora — black, flickering and fast-pulsating. The launch window is Jan. 21 through Feb. 5. The University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute owns Poker Flat, located at Mile 30 Steese Highway, […]
POKER FLAT RESEARCH RANGE — Under a bluebird sky and perched above a resilient winter snowpack, two sounding rockets point upward, ready to blast through the thickness of our atmosphere to gain a better look at the sun. Inside a building on this sprawling complex within the Chatanika River valley north of Fairbanks are two […]