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15.11.2023 20:53, Vladimir Fetisov
The European Space Agency’s ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter helped scientists observe for the first time how the atmosphere of Mars glows green, i.e. does this in the visible spectrum of light. We are talking about an effect called intrinsic atmospheric glow, which is a weak emission of light from the atmosphere.
Image source: ESA
Although Mars’s atmospheric glow bears some similarities to Earth’s northern lights, scientists believe they arise for different reasons. ESA believes that the green glow of the atmosphere at night “occurs when two oxygen atoms combine to form an oxygen molecule”. On Mars, this occurs at an altitude of about 50 km from the surface of the planet.
Astronomers have speculated for nearly 40 years that the Red Planet’s atmosphere might glow. However, it was first recorded only ten years ago using the Mars Express spacecraft, which detected this phenomenon in the infrared spectrum. In 2020, the TGO spacecraft allowed scientists to observe this phenomenon for the first time in the visible spectrum, but during the Martian day. Now the probe has managed to record the glow of the atmosphere during the Martian night.
“These new observations are unexpected and interesting for future trips to the Red Planet. The intensity of nightglow in the polar regions is such that relatively simple and inexpensive orbiters could help map and track atmospheric flows. A future ESA mission could carry a camera for global imaging. In addition, the radiation is intense enough that in the future it could be observed during the polar night by astronauts in orbit or on the surface of the planet.”says planetary scientist Jean-Claude Gerard.
It is also expected that further study of the night glow of the Martian atmosphere as part of the TGO mission will allow scientists to obtain more information about the processes occurring in the Martian atmosphere. Studying the atmosphere will help in the development of future spacecraft intended for flights to Mars.
