Discovery of diffuse aurora on Mars
Abstract
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.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Nov 06, 2015
- Source ID
- 10.1126/science.aad0313
Entities
People
- A. I. F. Stewart
- A. Stiepen
- B. M. Jakosky
- C. Mazelle
- C. O. Lee
- D. Brain
- D. L. Mitchell
- D. Larson
- D. Y. Lo
- F. Lefevre
- F. Montmessin
- G. M. Holsclaw
- J. I. Deighan
- J. S. Evans
- J. T. Clarke
- M. Crismani
- M. H. Stevens
- Michael Chaffin
- Nicholas M. Schneider
- R. J. Lillis
- Sanket Jain
- W. E. Mcclintock
Organizations
- Boston University
- CNES
- Institute Pierre Simon Laplace
- Research Institute in Astrophysics and Planetology
- United States Naval Research Laboratory
- University of Arizona
- University of Colorado
- University of Toulouse