Super Sun storm causes aurora on Red Planet

Turn your attention to the stars and you won't have to wait long to see spectacular scenes. One of them is the amazing aurora phenomenon that has just appeared on the Red Planet.

The event is caused by an intense solar wind sweeping through Mars, causing the planet's radiation level to peak. The amount of radiation recorded in the Red planet is twice as high as the maximum ever measured by the Curiosity Rover's Radiation Detection Device (RAD).

This spectacular aurora of light can be observed from Earth, Mars and other planets. The reason we can see this phenomenon is because high-energy particles emitted from the Sun create planetary magnetic fields and cause chemical reactions with gases in the atmosphere.

Researcher Sonal Jain of the University of Colorado - NASA team member "Research on Mars atmosphere and their evaporation evolution" (MAVEN), said: Special energy explosion by the Face Heaven caused "to make Mars glow like a light" with ultraviolet light.

"Mars aurora can cover the entire Red planet because Mars does not have a strong magnetic field like the Earth to focus aurora near polar regions. Energy particles from the Sun can also be absorbed." by the atmosphere above, causing the temperature to rise and causing the atmosphere to swell , " said researcher Sonal Jain.

The MAVEN Mars probe spacecraft has been monitoring the interaction of the solar wind on Mars's atmosphere since 2014. Along with the data collected from the Curiosity Rover probe, we have obtained some information. Important news about conditions on Mars.

If we want to live on this planet, we need to know how and when these dramatic events happen. If we were on Earth and observed the aurora phenomenon on Mars, it was really great but when we were in Mars, everything was no longer great. This is like a radiation show!

Aurora phenomenon on Mars.(Photo: NASA).

"If you are walking on Mars and know that an aurora is imminent, you will definitely want to find a shelter. You will also do so if you are walking outside the safe space of the Station. ISS International Universe, " said Don Hassler, one of RAD's researchers.

"In order to protect future astronauts on Mars, we need to continue to monitor the weather situation and promptly update similar phenomena on Mars ," he said. more.

Although we are better protected by the Earth's magnetic field, scientists are still concerned that a massive and bizarre solar storm can damage most communications devices on Earth. To prepare for this worst case scenario, people need to conduct more research on weather events in space.

In fact, scientists believe that the solar wind is the culprit that deprived Mars of Earth's atmosphere billions of years ago. This is another finding made by the data collected from MAVEN.

The strange thing is that this extremely high solar release event takes place in a quiet period during the 11-year cycle of the Sun.

Currently, NASA scientists are trying to thoroughly analyze the data from this event. The phenomenon of aurora on Mars may help us understand more about space as well as find ways to deal with similar events in the future. Besides, scientists will also know the structure of Mars' atmosphere by studying this phenomenon.

"The event will improve our understanding of how solar storms affect the environment on Mars, from the upper layer of the atmosphere to its surface," said researcher Hassler .