The most detailed image ever seen of the discreet polar lights of Mars was taken by the UAE’s Hope spacecraft. Ultraviolet-dominated eclipse occurs when the solar wind interacts with local magnetic fields emanating from the crust of Mars. The charged particles then collide with the oxygen particles in the upper atmosphere to create the cloudiness, which was recorded with Hope’s onboard spectrometer.
The Emirates Mars Mission (EMM), also known as the Hope spacecraft, arrived on Mars in February and has been conducting scientific measurements since 23 May. The main research goal of the 1.35-ton unit is not the magnetic field, but the atmosphere of the planet, so the polar light received on the lens end was a really nice surprise for the probe team.
Diffuse polar light has also been observed on Mars during solar storms, as well as “proton polar light” emanating from high altitudes, which is formed when protons from the solar wind convert hydrogen from other atoms to hydrogen. The discrete polar light follows the pattern of magnetism in the local crust of Mars, from which we can conclude that in the past, Mars also had a global magnetic field similar to that of Earth. These patterns probably froze billions of years ago when lava solidified in the presence of a magnetic field.
The light phenomenon observed in Hope’s recordings was first captured by ESA’s Mars Express probe in 2004, and was previously photographed by NASA’s MAVEN unit. Polar light draws the last remnants of Mars ’fading magnetic field, spectacularly showing that the planet has lost its former global space – and this may have led to the escape of its former thicker atmosphere.
Cover image: Hope spacecraft’s first photograph of Mars (Source: UAESA / MBRSC / LASP / EMM-EXI)
Source: Nature
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