Scientists have successfully launched a research rocket into the heart of an aurora, to study how the light designs -- specifically the auroral curls -- are formed.

The March 3 launch was part of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Ground-to-Rocket Electrodynamics-Electrons Correlative Experiment, or GREECE, mission.

An aurora, also known as Northern Lights, is the visual effect created when charged solar particles hit the Earth's magnetic field, either through a steady stream via solar wind or via a coronal mass ejection, the expulsion of solar particles from the sun's surface.

The rocket launched from Poker Flat research range in Alaska and flew for about 100 minutes.

At the peak of its flight, the rocket took readings from the middle of the aurora using several on-board sensors.

Two previous attempts to launch the rocket were delayed because of high winds, but also because auroras simply didn't appear above.

Nevertheless, Marilia Samara, lead investigator with the GREECE mission, said "the conditions were optimal" for the March 3 launch. Her teams, she added, "can't wait to dig into the data."

The GREECE mission employs both ground-based imaging devices and rockets with monitoring instruments directed into the auroras.

By learning what causes the auroras to curl, scientists will be able to better the often spectacular relationship between particles from the sun and the planet's magnetosphere.

There are several theoretical explanations for the curl formation.

Samara, a scientist at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas said the ultimate goal of the research "is to study the transfer of energy from the sun to Earth."

According to NASA, during the northern summer, sunlight prevents viewing the aurora at high northern latitudes; as the sun climbs higher in the night sky June 21 and then descends, the nights are too light for the auroras to appear.

But, because the magnetic pole is displaced toward North America, the auroral zone shown on our maps is at low enough latitudes that the lights can be seen, even in summer.