Tag Archives: ultraviolet aurora

MAVEN: ‘Stolen’ electrons cause unusual Mars aurora

Posted on July 24, 2018 by rburnham

Auroras appear on Earth as ghostly displays of colorful light in the night sky, usually near the poles. Our rocky neighbor Mars has auroras too, and NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft just found a new type of Martian aurora that occurs over … Continue reading →

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MAVEN: Large solar storm sparks global aurora, doubles radiation levels at surface

Posted on September 29, 2017 by rburnham

An unexpectedly strong blast from the Sun hit Mars this month, observed by NASA missions in orbit and on the surface. “NASA’s distributed set of science missions is in the right place to detect activity on the Sun and examine … Continue reading →

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Mars Express: New light on Mars’ UV aurora

Posted on November 5, 2015 by rburnham

ESA’s Mars Express has shed new light on the Red Planet’s rare ultraviolet aurora by combining for the first time remote observations with in situ measurements of electrons hitting the atmosphere. [...] These light displays are also found on other … Continue reading →

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