Scientists Discover Astonishing Aurora On Mars Never Seen Before On Any Planet
Scientists have found strange aurorae in the Martian sky. Yep, the Red Planet and Earth's immediate neighbour in the solar system also experiences aurorae like our planet... although the ones on Mars are a bit different.
According to observations made by United Arab Emirates Mars Mission (EMM), the aurora in question has never been noted on any planet before. When charged particles from solar winds slam into molecules in a planet's atmosphere, aurorae are created. On Earth, the polar phenomenon is also called southern or northern lights.
After discovering two types of aurorae on Mars, scientists have discovered a third kind which they've named "sinuous discrete aurora". The aurora was noted during a solar storm when "charged electrons swept over the Red Planet's thin atmosphere," LiveScience reported.
Check out an artist's impression below
No one knows why these aurorae exist
In a statement, EMM said that as those solar particles rained down on Mars' thin atmosphere, "long tendrils of light zigzagged across the sky from the planet's dayside to its nightside, spanning half of the planet's diameter."
The discovery has surprised scientists. Rob Lillis from the University of California who works on the mission's spectrometer instrument in a statement said that "we have ideas, but no solid explanation for why we are observing intense aurora of this shape and at planetary scales."
Also read:?Scientists Detect Two Largest 'Marsquakes' To Ever Rock The Red Planet
The mission has been surveying Mars since February 2021. The new aurorae were observed by EMM's Hope orbiter in ultraviolet light using an instrument called EMUS (Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer). This light is not visible to the human eye, and shows the exact spot where solar winds smashed into Mars' atmosphere.
Earth, too, is experiencing an influx of solar storms. And the number is only expected to shoot up as the Sun approaches its solar maximum - a period of high activity in the star's 11-year cycle.
Also read:?IISc, ISRO Develop Scalable Method To Make Space Bricks Using Mars Soil
What do you these about beautiful patches of Martian sky? Let us know in the comments below.??For more in the world of?technology?and?science, keep reading?Indiatimes.com.?
References
Specktor, B. (2022, May 5). Scientists discover bizarre ¡°worm-like¡± aurora stretching halfway across Mars. Livescience.Com.?
