Open AccessWhat is the aurora?
Author(s) -
J. T. Clarke
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
eos, transactions american geophysical union
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.316
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 2324-9250
pISSN - 0096-3941
DOI - 10.1029/2004eo520004
Subject(s) - uranus , jupiter (rocket family) , saturn , astronomy , astrobiology , history , physics , planet , space shuttle
”‘When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, ‘it means just what I choose it to mean—neither more nor less.’” From Through the Looking Glass, by Lewis Carroll. While writing a review chapter on Jupiter's aurora, I have given some thought recently to a general definition of the aurora. I have studied auroral emissions from Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus for the last 20 years, and I at first blithely assumed that there was general agreement for the better understood terrestrial aurora.