An illustration of the auroras on Mars. (Photo: UAE Space Agency)
Auroras, the shimmering, glowing curtains of colour created by charged protons and electrons emitted from the Sun and interacting with Earth's magnetic field are a common sight in polar regions. However, a similar glow has now been seen somewhere else in our Solar System, just about 300 million kilometers from us on Mars.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Hope Probe, hovering over Mars, has witnessed the rare phenomenon of beacons of light glowing above the atmosphere. The probe observed energetic particles exciting the atmosphere after being funnelled down by a patchy network of magnetic fields that originate from minerals on the surface of Mars.
"The UAE's Hope Probe, the first-ever Arab interplanetary mission, has captured the first global images of Mars’ Discrete Aurora. The high-quality images open up the unprecedented potential for the global science community to investigate solar interactions with Mars," the Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates said.
Three images of atomic oxygen emissions. (Photo: UAE Space Agency)
The probe captured three such events, taking three images of atomic oxygen emission at a wavelength of 103.4 nm from the planet using its Ultraviolet Spectrometer instrument on April 22, 23, and May 6. "New and striking observations of the discrete aurora from space have been made in the far and extreme ultraviolet bands that are invisible to the human eye," the UAE Space agency said in a statement.
Auroras on Mars are created when charged particles originating from the Sun's solar wind are funnelled down into Mars' thin atmosphere by a patchy network of magnetic fields. The magnetic fields are set up by huge deposits of magnetised minerals in the planetary crust.
While on Earth, the auroras are witnessed around polar ice caps at the top and bottom of the planet, on Mars things are different. The auroras on the Red Planet are also seen around its equator owing to the magnetic field buried within the crust. While auroras have been previously observed by other probes, the Hope Probe has a unique advantage due to its high-altitude orbit that allows it to take a global view of the night side of Mars.
Illustration: UAE Space Agency
The probe, which has been orbiting Mars since its arrival in February, had earlier captured Olympus Mons, the tallest volcano in the solar system. The volcano is about two-and-a-half times the height of Mount Everest and built by thousands of highly fluid basaltic lava flows over long periods of time.
The objective of the probe, dubbed 'Amal', is to provide a comprehensive image of the weather dynamics in the Red Planet's atmosphere. The probe is a foundation for a much bigger goal -- building a human settlement on Mars within the next 100 years. The UAE also wants the project to serve as a source of inspiration for Arab youth, in a region too often wracked by sectarian conflicts and economic crises.
Source : https://www.indiatoday.in/science/story/mars-has-earth-like-auroras-uae-s-hope-probe-captures-glowing-events-1823108-2021-07-02
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