Mars, the red planet, could be in for a global display of aurora. (Image does not show Mars)<\/p>\n
getty<\/p>\n
Mars, the red planet, could be in for a global display of aurora this week after a huge cloud of charged particles left the sun in the direction of the red planet.<\/p>\n
The prediction from solar scientists comes in the same week NASA\u2019s Perseverance Mars rover made history by detecting visibly green auroras on Mars for the first time.<\/p>\n
Mars In The \u2018Strike Zone\u2019<\/p>\n
An X2.7 solar flare on Wednesday, May 14 \u2014 the strongest of the year<\/a> so far \u2014 saw an intense burst of energy and electromagnetic radiation from the sun’s surface spread out across the system at light speed. An X-class solar flare is the most intense class, according to NASA<\/a>. In its wake, there was a coronal mass ejection \u2014 a cloud of super-charged particles \u2014 that left the sun’s surface.<\/p>\n This CME, a surge in the solar wind \u2014 the ever-present stream of charged particles released from the sun that travels in all directions in the solar system \u2014 appears to be headed for Mars, according to Spaceweather.com<\/a>. Data from NASA<\/a> indicates that the CME will interact with the atmosphere of Mars on Monday, May 18, which could cause a global display of aurora. Earth is not in the “strike zone” of the CME.<\/p>\n Perseverance Spots Auroras On Mars<\/p>\n The forecast for powerful auroras on Mars comes on the same day NASA published<\/a> stunning new images of such a display on the red planet last year. On March 15, 2024, a solar flare and an accompanying CME led to stunning auroras across the solar system, including on Mars. During that event, NASA\u2019s Perseverance Mars rover made history by detecting auroras. It’s the first time that’s been done from the surface of another planet.<\/p>\n \u201cThis exciting discovery opens up new possibilities for auroral research and confirms that auroras could be visible to future astronauts on Mars\u2019 surface,” said Elise Knutsen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oslo in Norway and lead author of a paper published<\/a> on May 15 in Science Advances.<\/p>\n The first visible-light image of a green aurora on Mars, left, taken by NASA\u2019s Perseverance rover. A … More comparison image, right, shows the night sky without the aurora but featuring the Martian moon Deimos.<\/p>\n NASA\/JPL-Caltech\/ASU\/MSSS\/SSI Aurora doesn’t come from the sun but results from how charged particles from our star interact with a planet’s magnetic field and react with particles in a planet’s atmosphere. Compared to Earth, Mars has almost no magnetic field and only a tenuous atmosphere. That makes the types of aurora on Mars slightly different, with so-called solar energetic particle auroras \u2014 super-energetic particles from the sun striking the Martian atmosphere \u2014 making the entire night sky glow.<\/p>\n Predicting Auroras On Mars<\/p>\n Until now, the only auroras on Mars have been detected at ultraviolet wavelengths by spacecraft orbiting the red planet. So, how were green auroras seen by Perseverance’s visible light cameras? \u201cThe trick was to pick a good CME, one that would accelerate and inject many charged particles into Mars\u2019 atmosphere,\u201d said Knutsen. \u201cWhen we saw the strength of this one, we estimated it could trigger aurora bright enough for our instruments to detect.\u201d<\/p>\n Thanks to a precise forecast of aurora three days after a huge CME left the sun in the direction of Mars, Perseverance\u2019s SuperCam and Mastcam-Z instruments observed green aurora. The all-sky display was also detected by two orbiting spacecraft, NASA’s MAVEN \u201a which first saw aurora at Mars in 2014 \u2014 and the European Space Agency’s Mars Express.<\/p>\n Solar Maximum<\/p>\n
\nWhy Auroras On Mars Are Different<\/p>\n