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Looking at a Martian Aurora Borealis

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the northern-lights dept.

mike_1138 writes "According to new research, 'The Martian auroras differ from those on Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune...' I've seen the Borealis here on Earth, and they're beautiful. I can't imagine what they must look like in a Martian night."

5 of 100 comments (clear)

  1. Don'l look like much by pegasustonans · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I've seen the Borealis here on Earth, and they're beautiful. I can't imagine what they must look like in a Martian night.

    Well, considering they're estimated to be about 1% as powerful, I'd have to venture a guess that they really don't look like much at all. At least not in visible light.

    --
    And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death. --Will
  2. Hrm... by Robotron23 · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Mars' atmosphere couldn't permit the spectacular light displays that can be witnessed here on Earth. While Mar's atmosphere stretches further into space than Earth's, its just not substantial enough to allow auroras. Further to this, since the solar wind has to travel further to Mars due to its distance from the sun the overall power of the aurorae would be reduced obviously.

    Furthermore, the actual sighting was seen in the southern hemisphere, theres definately a different name for auroras that occur south of the equator than borealis.

    1. Re:Hrm... by TripMaster+Monkey · · Score: 3, Interesting


      Actually, I have to correct an error in my previous post...the magnetic field strength of the Martian crust is 400 nT...compared to Earth's 3000 nT, it's a far cry from 'nearly as strong'.

      As for the solar winds, an insufficiently strong magnetic field would contribute to the solar wind eroding both the surface and the atmosphere over time.

      --
      ____

      ~ |rip/\/\aster /\/\onkey

  3. Pictures for those who haven't by KarMann · · Score: 2, Interesting
    "...I've seen the Borealis here on Earth, and they're beautiful. I can't imagine what they must look like in a Martian night."

    For those who haven't seen them, I happened to get some nice pictures of the bunch from this past May 14/15. Please don't melt down my server, but enjoy the pictures.

    On the other hand, it doesn't seem likely anyone here hasn't already seen them in pictures, but what the heck.

    --
    ProofReading Markup Language - and yes, I find typos.
  4. No, still wrong... by umofomia · · Score: 4, Interesting
    Borealis, Boreas - The great north wind; greek god of. aka Aquilo
    Australis, Auster - The great south wind; roman god of. aka Notus
    Even though the aurora was observed in the southern hemisphere of Mars, it doesn't mean it should automatically be called aurora australis. They're called borealis and australis on Earth because they're caused by the magnetic field lines going to the northern and southern poles, respectively.

    However, because Mars' magnetic field is too weak to create the phenomenon by similar means, the aurora is caused by a separate mechanism, namely the magnetic anomalies described in the article, which can occur anywhere on the planet. For this reason, it should not be called aurora borealis or aurora australis, but rather aurora [insert god of magnetic rocks here].