Rocket and ground-based observations of fast auroral features

We present results from both ground-based and in situ measurements of small-scale and rapidly varying auroral features, including some preliminary results from the GIRAFF sounding rocket mission. The GIRAFF mission (Ground Imaging to Rocket investigations of Auroral Fast Features) was designed to study flickering and fast pulsating aurora, with two identical payloads, launched into two separate auroral events. GIRAFF launched in February of 2025 into two separate auroral events, one pulsating and one with discrete arcs, both with high resolution auroral imaging deployed under the apogee of the payloads, for quantifying the actual auroral structures measured in situ. The preliminary results from those flights are presented. As a motivation for this study, we also present a case study of multi-spectral ground-based observations of both flickering and fast pulsating aurora, where we made estimates of the precipitating electron energy and flux from the ground-based imaging alone.