The International Space Station has detected something unknown 90 km above Earth.

At the end of September 2024, Hurricane "Helen" struck the coast of Florida, USA, bringing with it destructive rains and strong winds. According to scientists from NASA, the International Space Station (ISS) detected something unexpected above the surface of our planet. These were waves in the atmosphere at an altitude of about 90 km above the surface. They indicate that the weather below is connected to events in the upper layers of the atmosphere, reports Earth.

Located at an altitude of 50-90 km above the Earth's surface is a layer of the atmosphere known as the mesosphere. As shown by the data obtained by NASA scientists, the mesosphere can be influenced by weather occurring far below.

When Hurricane "Helen" hit the United States, one of NASA's instruments on the ISS detected signs of atmospheric waves created by hurricanes. This discovery demonstrates that hurricanes can affect even the thin air at such high altitudes.

The instrument that detected the unknown atmospheric wave is called AWE, and it was installed on the ISS last year. It was designed to observe "airglow," which is the faint light emitted by gases at high altitudes. The AWE instrument detected corresponding pulsations in the air that arose under the influence of hurricanes on the upper layer of the atmosphere.

The AWE instrument is also intended to identify the connection between hurricanes and the upper layers of the atmosphere. It monitors how changes below can propagate upward into the mesosphere and beyond. This way, scientists can understand what disrupts the atmosphere from its usual equilibrium.

The air in the mesosphere is thin, and when atmospheric waves occur, they can influence conditions that are crucial for satellites. Any change in the atmosphere at high altitudes can alter the air density at those heights, potentially causing satellites to drift off their orbits.

Communications satellites, weather satellites, and even the signals that people rely on for navigation may depend on stable conditions at high altitudes. One might think that the harsh environment of space operates independently of the weather on Earth.

According to scientists from NASA, this is not always the case. Strong hurricanes, as the research has shown, can cause changes even at very high altitudes. The detection of new atmospheric waves could lead to improved forecasts not only for regular weather but also for phenomena occurring closer to space.