NASA rockets search for hurricane-like swirls at the edge of space

Buoyancy waves often leave "ripples" in clouds like those seen over the Pacific Ocean in this image from NASA’s Terra satellite captured on Oct. 4, 2020.

Scientists are using rockets to search for giant hurricane-like swirls in the region near where Earth's atmosphere meets space. 

These vortices could be important for understanding weather patterns in the upper atmosphere that impact the entire planet, as well as "buoyancy waves" that travel all the way up to space.