Discovery of diffuse aurora on Mars

[en] Planetary auroras reveal the complex interplay between an atmosphere and the surrounding plasma environment.We report the discovery of low-Altitude, diffuse auroras spanning much of Mars' northern hemisphere, coincident with a solar energetic particle outburst. The Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph, a remote sensing instrument on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft, detected auroral emission in virtually all nightside observations for ~5 days, spanning nearly all geographic longitudes. Emission extended down to ~60 kilometer (km) altitude (1 microbar), deeper than confirmed at any other planet. Solar energetic particles were observed up to 200 kilo-electron volts; these particles are capable of penetrating down to the 60 km altitude. Given minimal magnetic fields over most of the planet, Mars is likely to exhibit auroras more globally than Earth.

Disciplines :

Space science, astronomy & astrophysics

Author, co-author :

Schneider, N. M.; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States

Deighan, J. I.; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States

Jain, S. K.; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States

Stiepen, Arnaud ; Université de Liège - ULiège

Stewart, A. I. F.; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, United States

Larson, D.; Space Sciences Lab, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States

Mitchell, D. L.; Space Sciences Lab, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States

Mazelle, C.; Institut de Recherche en Astrophysique et Planétologie (IRAP), CNRS, Toulouse, France, University Paul Sabatier, IRAP, CNRS, Toulouse, France

Lee, C. O.; Space Sciences Lab, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States

Lillis, R. J.; Space Sciences Lab, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, United States

More authors (12 more)

Language :

English

Title :

Discovery of diffuse aurora on Mars

Publication date :

2015

Journal title :

Science

ISSN :

0036-8075

eISSN :

1095-9203

Publisher :

American Association for the Advancement of Science

Volume :

350

Issue :

6261

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Available on ORBi :

since 23 November 2015

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