Team MAVEN (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, an American artificial satellite for studying the atmosphere of Mars,
The new data also revealed unexpected waves and spirals over the poles in winter and confirmed the results from the Mars Express spacecraft that the night glow was brightest in the polar regions in winter.
MAVEN imagery offers us the first global understanding of atmospheric movements in the middle atmosphere of Mars, a critical region where air currents carry gases between the lower and upper layers.
Nick Schneider from the University of Colorado Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP)
Lightening occurs where vertical winds move gases into areas of higher density, speeding up chemical reactions that create nitric oxide and increase ultraviolet glow.
Ultraviolet light comes mainly fromheights of about 70 km, and the brightest spot is about a thousand kilometers across. It is as bright in ultraviolet light as Earth's northern lights. Unfortunately, the composition of Mars' atmosphere means these bright spots do not emit light in the visible wavelength range that would-be Martian astronauts would see them. It's a pity: bright spots intensified overhead every night after sunset and drifted across the sky at a speed of 300 km / h.
Ultraviolet "night glow" of the Mars atmosphere over the South Pole: This is an image of the ultraviolet "nightglow" of the Martian atmosphere over the south pole. Credit: NASA/MAVEN/Goddard Space Flight Center/CU/LASP
In the future, the MAVEN team plans to look atnight glow "from the side" rather than from above, using data obtained by the IUVS. These data will be used to better understand vertical winds and seasonal variations.
SchemeGlowing Nightside of Mars: The diagram explains the reason for the glowing nighttime atmosphere of Mars. Credit: NASA/MAVEN/Goddard Space Flight Center/CU/LASP
The Martian night glow was firstdiscovered by the SPICAM instrument on the Mars Express spacecraft of the European Space Agency. However, the IUVS is a next generation tool that is better able to display the night glow repeatedly, detecting patterns and periodic behavior. Many planets, including Earth, have a night glow, but MAVEN is the first mission to collect so many images of another planet's night glow.
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