Mars astronauts would be able to see colorful aurora lights during solar storms, scientists prove
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Original Coverage: Mars astronauts would be able to see colorful aurora lights during solar storms, scientists prove
For the first time, scientists know what aurora light displays on Mars could look like for Martian explorers. On Earth, the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, are created when energized particles from the Sun interact with our planet’s magnetic field. While Mars is also blasted with the same space weather, the Red Planet lacks a magnetic field, creating a different phenomenon known as solar energetic particle (SEP) auroras. These were first discovered by NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft more than a decade ago. However, until now, it hasn’t been documented if these lights appear in the colors we see on Earth. The most common color of auroras on Earth is green, caused by oxygen atoms emitting light at a wavelength of 557.7 nanometers. NASA said it’s likely that if astronauts had been on the surface of Mars near the rover, they would have been able to see the glowing green lights. They needed a strong CME that would send a lot of charged particles into the Martian atmosphere. On May 15, 2024, the Moon to Mars Space Weather Analysis Office sent out an alert for a coronal mass ejection that could produce a solar storm on Mars. A few days later, the
Perseverance Mars rover becomes 1st spacecraft to spot auroras from the surface of another world
The car-sized Perseverance rover spied auroras in Mars’ skies in mid-March. It’s the first-ever spacecraft to witness such a light show from the surface of another planet. Auroras occur when charged particles from the sun collide with molecules in planetary atmospheres. “This exciting discovery opens up new possibilities for auroral research,” says lead author Elise Knutsen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oslo in Norway.”We are thrilled to have finally gotten a sneak peek of what astronauts will be able to see there some day,” says MAVEN principal investigator Shannon Curry, a co-author of the new paper. The green auroral glow was caused by light-emitting oxygen atoms on the Red Planet’s surface. It was captured by the rover’s MastCam-Z camera system and SuperCam spectrometer, among other instruments, in a study published in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday (May 14) The discovery could help scientists better understand the conditions around Mars that lead to auroras, especially as we prepare to send human explorers there safely, a NASA official said in a statement. statement: “Perseverance’s observations of the visible-light aurora confirm
The First-Ever Picture of Aurora Lights on Mars Captured by Perseverance Rover
NASA’s Perseverance rover has detected visible auroras on Mars, marking the first time the lights have been witnessed from the surface of another planet. The observation occurred after a solar flare and coronal mass ejection (CME) erupted from the Sun on March 15, 2024, near the peak of the current solar cycle. The detection suggests that future astronauts on Mars could witness auroras similar to those on Earth. The findings also offer a new method of studying aurora on Mars using ground-based instruments, says Katie Stack Morgan, acting project scientist for Perseverances at NASA”s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “A better understanding of auroras and the conditions around Mars that lead to their formation are especially important as we prepare to send human explorers there safely,” says Stack Morgan.“We all worked together quickly to facilitate this observation and are thrilled to have finally gotten a sneak peek of what astronauts will be able to see there some day,’ says Shannon Curry, MAVEN principal investigator and researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder’s Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) The findings were supported by observations from the European Space Agency’s Mars Express mission, which
NASA rover spies first visible aurora on Mars in ‘exciting discovery’
NASA rover spies first visible aurora on Mars in ‘exciting discovery’ Future astronauts on Mars could witness the stunning cosmic display, researchers say. Scientists say a Martian aurora puts green streaks in the Red Planet’s sky. The spectacular display, known as the Northern Lights in Earth’s northern hemisphere, was captured by NASA’s Perseverance Rover. It is the first time aurora visible to the naked eye has been captured on the Red planet – and researchers say the finding confirms that future Mars astronauts could witness aurora displays. The green aurora was spotted after Mars was battered by a powerful solar storm last year. Similar to the aurora borealis on Earth , the RedPlanet’s auroras are created when high-energy particles from space collide with atoms of gas in its atmosphere. On March 15, 2024, the Sun produced a massive CME that led to ‘stunning’ auroras across the Solar System, including on Mars. The findings will help to develop scientists’ understanding of Jupiter’s upper atmosphere and how it is heated and cooled. Earlier this week, NASA released images captured by the James Webb Space Telescope of stunning auroras on Jupiter that glow ‘hundreds of times brighter’ than the
NASA rover spies the first aurora at Mars that’s visible to the human eye
The green aurora in the dusty Martian sky was generated by a solar storm last year and had three days’ advance notice to set aside viewing time with the rover’s cameras. Previous auroras observed at Mars appeared only in the ultraviolet, but this one was in the visible wavelength. It resulted from a solar flare in March 2024 that was followed by a coronal mass ejection of plasma from the sun that was directed toward Mars. This was the first time an aurora had been reported from the surface of a planet other than Earth, the researchers noted. Launched in 2020, Perseverance has been exploring Mars’ Jezero Crater since 2021, collecting dust and rock samples for eventual return to Earth. The region, now dry but once believed to be a flowing lake and river delta, could hold evidence of ancient microbial life. The latest observations show that forecasting of northern and southern lights is now possible at Mars, allowing scientists to study space weather, said University of Oslo’‘s Elise Wright Knutsen , whose research appeared Wednesday in the journal Science Advances. “While the brightness of this event was dimmed by dust, events under better viewing conditions or more intense particle precipitation might be above the
NASA rover captures an aurora from Mars surface for the first time
NASA’s Perseverance rover has captured an aurora in the night sky for the first time from the Martian ground. Scientists have known for two decades that Mars ‘ skies have auroras, too, but these curtains of undulating light had only been detected in ultraviolet. A paper on the unprecedented observation was published in the journal Science Advances on May 14. The detection suggests that, under better conditions, under one day astronauts could one day see such light with their own eyes.. A NASA-funded mission called Escapade will seek more ways to get more accurate models of Mars’ ionosphere, the layer of charged particles surrounding the planet’s atmosphere. The mission will attempt to take the first images of Martian auroras in global light in 2024. In order for astronauts to land on Mars and explore one day, they’ll need navigation and communication systems that pass through the upper atmosphere of the planet and through the solar system to the surface. The sun releases radiation during a solar storm , charged particles travel along a planet’s invisible magnetic field lines. When these particles strike gases in the atmosphere, they heat up and glow. The side effects are colorful light displays known as auroras. On Earth, the colors differ depending on the type
Lights on Mars! NASA rover photographs visible auroras on Red Planet for the first time
NASA’s Perseverance rover has captured the first-ever photo of “naked eye” auroras on Mars. The alien light show was snapped after the Red Planet was battered by a powerful solar storm last year. The faint green lights are believed to be the first auroras anywhere in the solar system to be captured using only visible wavelengths of light. Researchers think a higher dose of solar particles, coupled with reduced atmospheric dust, could allow the phenomenon to be visible to the naked eye in the future. The new findings raise hopes that human eyes will one day witness aurora on another world firsthand, the researchers wrote in a study published in the journal Science Advances. The image was taken on March 18, 2024, roughly three days after a sizable cloud of charged particles, known as a coronal mass ejection (CME), erupted from the sun. The auroras were so weak that the light was apparent only after the glare from Mars’ largest moon, Phobos, was edited out of the photo, which is why the image above is split in half. It is unlikely that humans could have seen such weak auroras, but the researchers think future astronauts may see Martian airglow shining above the planet’s poles at night
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Sources
- Original: Mars astronauts would be able to see colorful aurora lights during solar storms, scientists prove
- Perseverance Mars rover becomes 1st spacecraft to spot auroras from the surface of another world
- The First-Ever Picture of Aurora Lights on Mars Captured by Perseverance Rover
- NASA rover spies first visible aurora on Mars in ‘exciting discovery’
- NASA rover spies the first aurora at Mars that’s visible to the human eye
- NASA rover captures an aurora from Mars surface for the first time
- Lights on Mars! NASA rover photographs visible auroras on Red Planet for the first time
Source: https://www.foxweather.com/earth-space/nasa-mars-colorful-aurora-visible-light