Archive · 8 Jan 2026
NASA Detects Strange Atmospheric Waves Above Earth
NASA found something strange happening high above Earth using a special tool on the International Space Station.
This happened during a big storm called Hurricane Helene that hit Florida.
The tool saw special waves in the air, very high up, where usually we don't see such things.
These waves were not visible from the ground but were seen from space.
This shows that big storms can affect not just the ground but also the layers of air above us.
The tool, called AWE, was put on the space station in 2023 to study these kinds of things.
It helps scientists understand how big storms can change the air high above us.
NASA detected unusual atmospheric waves 88 kilometers above Earth during Hurricane Helene.
The waves were observed in the mesosphere, the third layer of Earth's atmosphere.
The Atmospheric Wave Experiment (AWE) on the ISS detected the phenomenon.
The waves were not visible from the ground but were picked up from space.
The disturbance traveled westward, indicating the storm's far-reaching effects.
- Who
- NASA
- What
- Detection of atmospheric waves in the mesosphere
- When
- September 2024
- Where
- Above Earth, 88 kilometers altitude
- Why
- Caused by Hurricane Helene
- Detection Source
- International Space Station (ISS)
- Detection Instrument
- Atmospheric Wave Experiment (AWE)
- Atmospheric Layer
- Mesosphere
- Altitude
- 88 kilometers above Earth
- Associated Event
- Hurricane Helene
- Installation Year of AWE
- 2023
- ISS Orbit Altitude
- 400 kilometers