Space and Planetary Science; Geophysics; Mars, Aurora, magnetic field, solar wind, MAVEN
Abstract :
[en] Discrete aurora at Mars, characterized by their small spatial scale and tendency to form near strong crustal magnetic fields, are emissions produced by particle precipitation into the Martian upper atmosphere. Since 2014, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN's (MAVEN's) Imaging Ultraviolet
Spectrograph (IUVS) has obtained a large collection of UV discrete aurora observations during its routine periapsis nightside limb scans. Initial analysis of these observations has shown that, near the strongest crustal magnetic fields in the southern hemisphere, the IUVS discrete aurora detection frequency is highly sensitive to the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) clock angle. However, the role of other solar wind properties in
controlling the discrete aurora detection frequency has not yet been determined. In this work, we use the IUVS discrete aurora observations, along with MAVEN observations of the upstream solar wind, to determine how the discrete aurora detection frequency varies with solar wind dynamic pressure, IMF strength, and IMF cone angle. We find that, outside of the strong crustal field region (SCFR) in the southern hemisphere, the aurora detection frequency is relatively insensitive to the IMF orientation, but significantly increases with
solar wind dynamic pressure, and moderately increases with IMF strength. Interestingly however, although high solar wind dynamic pressures cause more aurora to form, they have little impact on the brightness of the auroral emissions. Alternatively, inside the SCFR, the detection frequency is only moderately dependent on the solar wind dynamic pressure, and is much more sensitive to the IMF clock and cone angles. In the
SCFR, aurora are unlikely to occur when the IMF points near the radial or anti-radial directions when the cone angle (arccos(Bx/|B|)) is less than 30° or between 120° and 150°. Together, these results provide the first comprehensive characterization of how upstream solar wind conditions affect the formation of discrete aurora at Mars.
Research center :
STAR - Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research - ULiège
Disciplines :
Space science, astronomy & astrophysics
Author, co-author :
Girazian, Z. ; Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Iowa Iowa City IA USA
Schneider, N. M. ; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USA
Milby, Z. ; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USA
Fang, X. ; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USA
Halekas, J. ; Department of Physics and Astronomy University of Iowa Iowa City IA USA
Weber, T. ; NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt MD USA
Jain, S. K. ; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USA
Gérard, Jean-Claude ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département d'astrophysique, géophysique et océanographie (AGO)
Soret, Lauriane ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Unités de recherche interfacultaires > Space sciences, Technologies and Astrophysics Research (STAR)
Deighan, J. ; Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics University of Colorado Boulder Boulder CO USA
Lee, C. O. ; Space Sciences Laboratory University of California Berkeley CA USA
Language :
English
Title :
Discrete Aurora at Mars: Dependence on Upstream Solar Wind Conditions
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