Year: 2026
Type: data-paper
Abstract: We present a comprehensive dataset of dayside auroral emissions observed by the Global-scale Observations of the Limb and Disk (GOLD) mission from October 2018 to June 2025. The dataset contains over 47,000 unique scans of the northern aurora in three far-ultraviolet spectral channels (OI 135.6 nm, NI 149.3 nm, and N₂ LBH), estimates of the background dayglow, binary masks of auroral locations, and other corresponding spatial and temporal metadata. The OI 135.6 nm, NI 149.3 nm, and N₂ LBH emissions are far-ultraviolet signatures of electron-impact excitation in the upper atmosphere and therefore serve as tracers of auroral electron precipitation. From this dataset, auroral pixels are directly available with no dayglow contamination of the emissions. Auroral signals are extracted through a multi-stage processing pipeline inspired by computer vision and machine learning techniques. This dataset provides a consistent view of the dayside aurora over the North American and Atlantic sectors, enabling studies of auroral dynamics with GOLD observations.
Source: Scientific Data
Authors: Jordan Holmes, Scott L. England
Institution: Virginia Tech
Language: English
Subfield: Astronomy and Astrophysics
Field: Physics and Astronomy
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,490
Funder: Virginia Space Grant Consortium
Award: G7726224616
OpenAlex ID: W7130505393