NASA has shared images of purple aurora borealis on Mars taken by its orbiter, MAVEN. | NASA
NASA's Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument on board NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) orbiter captured the mesmerizing aurora lights that covered the Red Planet in purple between May 14 and May 20 this year. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) recently shared a video of the aurora lights on Mars at night.
The space agency recently thrilled its Instagram followers with an animated GIF showing aurorae on the night side of Mars. Both NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) orbiter and the US space agency's Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument recorded this unusual phenomenon.
Instagram post by NASA
“The purple color in this video represents aurora on the night side of Mars, as detected by the Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument on NASA's MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution) orbiter. The brighter the purple color, the more pronounced the presence of aurora. This view, taken as waves of energetic particles from a solar storm reach Mars, pauses at the end, when the most energetic wave of particles arrives and overwhelms the instrument with noise,” NASA wrote in the caption of the post.
When was it caught?
This stellar display of purple light on the Red Planet was photographed by NASA's MAVEN between May 14 and May 20, 2024. The space agency clarified in the caption that these auroras are different from the ones seen on Earth.
NASA further explained, “Our home planet is protected from charged particles by a strong magnetic field, which is normally confined to areas near the polar regions. (Solar maximum is the reason behind the recent polar fields seen south of Alabama.) Mars lost its internally generated magnetic field in the ancient past, so there is no protection from the onslaught of energetic particles. When charged particles hit the Martian atmosphere, polar fields are formed that engulf the entire planet.”
The post was shared by NASA a few days ago, and has since received over 261,000 likes and countless comments with humorous Marvel references and music references.
Aurora on Earth vs. Aurora on Mars
When energy particles from solar storms move along a planet's magnetic field lines, they produce colorful lights called auroras. There are different types of auroras visible on Earth and those that are not. These lights are usually limited to areas close to the poles because the Earth is protected by a strong magnetic field.
On the other hand, Mars' naturally occurring magnetic field has long been destroyed. As a result, when charged particles enter the Martian atmosphere, there is no way to defend against the onslaught of powerful particles. When charged particles enter the Martian atmosphere, auroras surround the entire planet.