Sometimes called the aurora, they give the impression of piercing the Arctic night sky with blue, green or purple light beams.
Waves of fake white and green colors could be observed, illuminating the sky after 18:30 GMT and gradually crowding out the 'true' aurora borealis that then illuminated the sky.
"Today no one can imagine themselves without GPS, television, satellite cable or smartphone. But to ensure access to all this, we need to better understand space weather," Tima Sergienko, the head of the experiment, told AFP before the launch.
"All these things can be destroyed during strong ionic activities" that cause the Northern Lights, he added.
An aurora borealis lights up the sky over the village of Erikslund, Sweden, August 23, 2016 © JONATHAN NACKSTRAND / AFP/Archives
To replicate this effect, the researchers released barium from aluminum cylinders.
"It poses absolutely no danger to people. It will be a beautiful phenomenon visible in the sky, and don't worry, it's not a UFO," Sergienko joked.
Similar experiments have been carried out around the world in recent decades, but cameras and technology are now better developed, he said.
According to him, researchers can obtain "much more information from these types of experiments and optical measurements".
© 2023 AFP