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Tag Archives: solar wind
Mars Express: Leaky atmosphere linked to lightweight planet
The Red Planet’s low gravity and lack of magnetic field makes its outermost atmosphere an easy target to be swept away by the solar wind, but new evidence from ESA’s Mars Express spacecraft shows that the Sun’s radiation may play … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged Analyser of Space Plasmas and Energetic Atoms, ASPERA-3, ESA, European Space Agency, magnetosphere, Mars Express, MEX, solar wind
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How the solar wind interacts with Mars
Mars, without a strong internal dipole magnetic field, is a place where the supersonic solar wind directly contacts the planet’s upper atmosphere. Using a large set of data from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission, [a paper published … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, MAVEN, solar wind
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Mars atmosphere well protected from solar wind
Despite the absence of a global Earth-like magnetic dipole, the Martian atmosphere is well protected from the effects of the solar wind on ion escape from the planet. New research shows this using measurements from the Swedish particle instrument ASPERA-3 … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged ASPERA-3, atmosphere, ESA, European Space Agency, magnetosphere, Mars Express, MEX, solar wind
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Solar eruptions could electrify Martian moons
Powerful solar eruptions could electrically charge areas of the Martian moon Phobos to hundreds of volts, presenting a complex electrical environment that could possibly affect sensitive electronics carried by future robotic explorers, according to a new NASA study. The study … Continue reading
MAVEN: Mars has a twisted magnetotail
Mars has an invisible magnetic “tail” that is twisted by interaction with the solar wind, according to new research using data from MAVEN. MAVEN is in orbit around Mars gathering data on how the Red Planet lost much of its … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged magnetic field, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, MAVEN, MAVEN Solar Wind Ion Analyzer, NASA, solar wind, University of Colorado
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Mars mystery plumes caused by space weather?
Mysterious high-rise clouds seen appearing suddenly in the martian atmosphere on a handful of occasions may be linked to space weather, say Mars Express scientists. [The results are published in the Journal of Geophysical Research.] Amateur astronomers using telescopes on … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, clouds, ESA, European Space Agency, ionosphere, Mars Express, MEX, plume, solar activity, solar coronal mass ejections, solar energetic particles, solar flares, solar wind
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How Mars’ atmosphere lost its carbon
Mars is blanketed by a thin, mostly carbon dioxide atmosphere — one that is far too thin to keep water from freezing or quickly evaporating. However, geological evidence has led scientists to conclude that ancient Mars was once a warmer, … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged atmosphere, carbon dioxide, carbonate minerals, solar wind, ultraviolet photodissociation, UV photodissociation
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Protecting Mars astronauts from space radiation
On Aug. 7, 1972, in the heart of the Apollo era, an enormous solar flare exploded from the sun’s atmosphere. Along with a gigantic burst of light in nearly all wavelengths, this event accelerated a wave of energetic particles. Mostly … Continue reading
MAVEN: Exploring solar wind beyond Earth
As part of its goal to explore Mars’ upper atmosphere and its interaction with the Sun and the solar wind, MAVEN is exploring propagation of the solar wind and solar energetic particles (SEPs) beyond 1 Astronomical Unit [the distance between … Continue reading
Posted in Reports
Tagged coronal mass ejections, Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, MAVEN, NASA, solar energetic particles, solar wind, University of Colorado
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