Tag Archives: ionosphere

Mars ionosphere shaped by crustal magnetic fields

Posted on November 7, 2016 by rburnham

Scattered pockets of magnetism across the surface of Mars have a significant influence on the planet’s upper atmosphere, according to observations from ESA’s Mars Express. Understanding these effects may be crucial for ensuring safe radio communications between Mars and Earth … Continue reading →

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MAVEN data solves Mars particle-beam puzzle

Posted on May 25, 2016 by rburnham

High above the surface of Mars’s sunlit side, protons of the solar wind begin to smash into the upper reaches of Mars’s atmosphere. NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) spacecraft, which arrived at the Red Planet in 2014, … Continue reading →

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Mars mystery plumes caused by space weather?

Posted on May 23, 2016 by rburnham

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 →

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MAVEN surveys the ionosphere of Mars

Posted on May 10, 2016 by rburnham

The ionosphere of Mars ‪plays a critical role in the loss of atmospheric gases and water to space. ‪MAVEN‬ has provided the first measurements of the composition of the ionosphere of Mars since Viking in 1976. Unlike Viking, which provided … Continue reading →

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