Science, Technology and Society 361: "Mars Exploration" -- Fall 2010

Friday, December 21, 2007

Martian Aurora Is One of a Kind

The beautiful aurora displayed at the Earth's poles may be rivaled by the aurora belonging to Mars. When auroras occur on Earth, it is because charged particles from solar winds are meeting the planet's magnetic field. With an ultraviolet spectrometer, an aurora on Mars was spotted, which should be seen as strange because Mars has no magnetic field. Surprisingly it was found that the auroras occurred over areas where magnetic rocks rested within the planet's crust. These magnetized rocks are actually remnants of what was once Mars' magnetic field, before it was erased when the core began to solidify (or was completely solidified). This method of aurora production, as well as the visuals produced by the aurora, make it one of a kind in our solar system.

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=000F35AE-4DE0-12A7-8DE083414B7F0000

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