Patchy Proton Aurora at Mars (IMAGE)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

Patchy Proton Aurora at Mars

Caption

Patchy proton aurora on Mars form when turbulent conditions around the planet allow charged hydrogen particles from the Sun to stream into the Martian atmosphere. Images from August 5 show the typical atmospheric conditions, in which the EMM instrument EMUS detects no unusual activity at two wavelengths associated with the hydrogen atom. But on August 11 and August 30, the instrument observed patchy aurora at both wavelengths, indicating turbulent interactions with the solar wind.

Credit

EMM/EMUS

Usage Restrictions

No restrictions.

License

Public Domain

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