Mars might be the Red Planet, but its atmosphere glows green.
Using the European Space Agency’s (ESA) ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), scientists have observed Mars’ atmosphere glowing green for the first time ever — in the visible light spectrum, that is.
The effect is called airglow (or dayglow or nightglow, depending on the hour), and it occurs on Earth, too. While it shares some similarities with the northern lights (or aurora) here on our planet, it’s a different phenomenon with different causes. Nightglow, in particular, “occurs when two oxygen atoms combine to form an oxygen molecule,” according to ESA.
On Mars, this happens at an altitude of approximately 31 miles (50 km). By comparison, auroras occur when charged particles from the sun collide with Earth’s magnetic field.
Scientists have suspected Mars to have airglow for some 40 years, but the first observation only occurred a decade ago by ESA’s Mars Express orbiter, which detected the phenomenon in the infrared spectrum. Then, in 2020, scientists observed the phenomenon in visible light using TGO, but in Martian daylight rather than at night. Now, we’ve seen the phenomenon at night via TGO.
“These new observations are unexpected and interesting for future journeys to the Red Planet,” ULiège planetologist Jean-Claude Gérard,” said in an ESA statement. “The intensity of the night glow in the polar regions is such that simple and relatively inexpensive instruments in Martian orbit could map and monitor atmospheric flows.
A future ESA mission could carry a camera for global imaging. In addition, the emission is sufficiently intense to be observable during the polar night by future astronauts in orbit or from the Martian ground’.
Disclaimer
The information contained in South Florida Reporter is for general information purposes only.
The South Florida Reporter assumes no responsibility for errors or omissions in the contents of the Service.
In no event shall the South Florida Reporter be liable for any special, direct, indirect, consequential, or incidental damages or any damages whatsoever, whether in an action of contract, negligence or other tort, arising out of or in connection with the use of the Service or the contents of the Service. The Company reserves the right to make additions, deletions, or modifications to the contents of the Service at any time without prior notice.
The Company does not warrant that the Service is free of viruses or other harmful components
This article originally appeared here and was republished with permission.
