http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/release...2/12_mars.shtml
--- ... shows them clustering around the margins of the regions of strong surface magnetic field, mostly in the southern hemisphere. The margins are where the magnetic field lines converge on the surface, funneling electrons that crash into atmospheric carbon dioxide and generate the ultraviolet flashes. ---
Full Version: More Martian Auroras
QUOTE (SigurRosFan @ Dec 13 2005, 09:59 AM)
QUOTE
"The fact that we see auroras as often as we do is amazing," said UC Berkeley physicist David A. Brain, the lead author of a paper on the discovery recently accepted by the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
I'm not sure if anyone noticed but an ~101 Kb PDF preprint of the Brain et al. paper (without figures) is available.
Have the rovers been able to image any aurorae?
I will presume the Vikings and Mars Pathfinder did not.
I will presume the Vikings and Mars Pathfinder did not.
There was considerable discussion at AGU of the rovers' astronomical photos -- including the possible "meteor streaks" (which do seem to be coming fom the same general direction, implying that they are not produced by cosmic rays), and a lovely photo of Phobos rising and Deimos setting side-by-side in the same near-horizon frame -- but there was not a peep about any auroras. Nor have MER-A's attempts to spot a dust ring in Phobos' orbit been successful, setting an upper limit on its possible density.
QUOTE (BruceMoomaw @ Dec 14 2005, 04:54 AM)
There was considerable discussion at AGU of the rovers' astronomical photos -- including the possible "meteor streaks" (which do seem to be coming fom the same general direction, implying that they are not produced by cosmic rays), and a lovely photo of Phobos rising and Deimos setting side-by-side in the same near-horizon frame -- but there was not a peep about any auroras. Nor have MER-A's attempts to spot a dust ring in Phobos' orbit been successful, setting an upper limit on its possible density.
Bruce, is this the shot you mean from Sol 682 pancam.
http://marsrovers.jpl.nasa.gov/gallery/all...W6P2748L1M1.JPG
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