Mars Express Discovers Aurorae On Mars

[zavvy]

<b>Mars Express Discovers Aurorae On Mars</b><br /><br />LINK<br /><br />ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft has for the first time ever detected an aurora on Mars. This aurora is of a type never previously observed in the Solar System.<br /> <br />Observations by the SPICAM instrument (SPectroscopy for the Investigations and the Characteristics of the Atmosphere on Mars) taken on 11 August 2004, revealed light emissions now interpreted as an aurora. <br /><br />Aurorae are spectacular displays often seen at the highest latitudes on Earth. On our planet, as well as on the giant planets Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, they lie at the foot of the planetary magnetic field lines near the Poles, and are produced by charged particles – electrons, protons or ions – precipitating along these lines. <br /><br />Aurorae have also been observed on the night side of Venus, a planet with no intrinsic (planetary) magnetic field. Unlike Earth and the giant planets, venusian aurorae appear as bright and diffuse patches of varying shape and intensity, sometimes distributed across the full planetary disc. Venusian aurorae are produced by the impact of electrons originating from the solar wind and precipitating in the night-side atmosphere. <br /><br />Like Venus, Mars is a planet with no intrinsic magnetic field. A few years ago it was suggested that auroral phenomena could exist on Mars too. This hypothesis was reinforced by the recent Mars Global Surveyor discovery of crustal magnetic anomalies, most likely the remnants of an old planetary magnetic field. <br /><br />SPICAM detected light emissions in the Southern hemisphere on Mars, during night time observations. The total size of the emission region is about 30 kilometres across, possibly about 8 kilometres high. Whilst the detected emission is typical for day-time, it must indicate the excitation of the upper atmosphere by fluxes of charged particles – pr

 

[zavvy]

Indeed it has. Hopefully, with more to come..

 

[centsworth_II]

Hopefully some ground breaking (or penetrating<img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" />) discoveries are around the corner with MARSIS. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

That is very very cool. Scientists keep finding aurorae in more places, as the instrumentation becomes more sensitive. It should help to reveal interesting things about the electromagnetic environment around Mars. IT's especially interesting to hear of aurorae on a planet that lacks a global magnetic field. This one is concentrated around one of the magnetic anomalies on Mars (regions with localized magnetic fields believed to be remnants of an extinct global magnetic field), which makes sense but also makes it distinct from the aurorae discovered elsewhere.<br /><br />Fascinating! <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>