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Home
About
Science Team
Principal Investigator
Institutional Partners
Meet the MAVENites
Spacecraft
Mission Timeline
FAQs
Science
Science Orbit
Instruments
Solar Wind Electron Analyzer (SWEA)
Solar Wind Ion Analyzer (SWIA)
Suprathermal and Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC)
Solar Energetic Particle (SEP)
Langmuir Probe and Waves (LPW)
Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Monitor
Magnetometer (MAG)
Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS)
IUVS Imaging Highlights
Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS)
Radio Occultation Science Experiment (ROSE)
Released Results
Publications
Science Data Center
MAVEN Science Spotlights
Space Weather
Education & Outreach
For Educators
MAVEN Educator Ambassador Project
Red Planet: Read, Write, Explore!
Afterschool & Summer Programs
Invisible Mars: Science On a Sphere
Imagine Mars through Native Eyes
Girls Go to Mars
Public Outreach
MAVEN Outreach Webinars
New Media Professional Development
2015 New Media Professional Development Workshop
MAVEN Space Valentines 2022
Going to Mars campaign
Message to Mars contest
Educator recognition selections
Student art contest
About the first-place entry
School-based awards
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Sun Storm Triggers Whole-Planet Aurora at Mars (Video)
Sun Storm Triggers Whole-Planet Aurora at Mars (Video)
This animation shows the sudden appearance of a bright aurora on Mars during a solar storm. The purple-white color scheme shows the intensity of ultraviolet light seen on Mars’ night side over the course of the event. The data are from observations on Sept. 12 and 13, 2017, by the MAVEN Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph instrument (IUVS). The aurora is occurring because energetic particles from the solar storm are bombarding gases in the planet’s atmosphere, causing them to glow. A simulated image of the Mars surface for the same time and orientation is also shown, with the dayside crescent visible on the right. The auroral emission appears brightest at the edges of the planet where the line of sight passes along the length of the glowing atmosphere layer. Note that, unlike auroras on Earth, the Martian aurora is not concentrated at the planet’s polar regions. This is because Mars has no strong magnetic field like Earth’s to concentrate the aurora near the poles. (Courtesy NASA/Univ. of Colorado Boulder-LASP)
Main Menu
Home
About
Science Team
Principal Investigator
Institutional Partners
Meet the MAVENites
Spacecraft
Mission Timeline
FAQs
Science
Science Orbit
Instruments
Solar Wind Electron Analyzer (SWEA)
Solar Wind Ion Analyzer (SWIA)
Suprathermal and Thermal Ion Composition (STATIC)
Solar Energetic Particle (SEP)
Langmuir Probe and Waves (LPW)
Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) Monitor
Magnetometer (MAG)
Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS)
IUVS Imaging Highlights
Neutral Gas and Ion Mass Spectrometer (NGIMS)
Radio Occultation Science Experiment (ROSE)
Released Results
Publications
Science Data Center
MAVEN Science Spotlights
Space Weather
Education & Outreach
For Educators
MAVEN Educator Ambassador Project
Red Planet: Read, Write, Explore!
Afterschool & Summer Programs
Invisible Mars: Science On a Sphere
Imagine Mars through Native Eyes
Girls Go to Mars
Public Outreach
MAVEN Outreach Webinars
New Media Professional Development
2015 New Media Professional Development Workshop
MAVEN Space Valentines 2022
Going to Mars campaign
Message to Mars contest
Educator recognition selections
Student art contest
About the first-place entry
School-based awards
Multimedia
Spacecraft Images
Team Images
Videos
News & Events
Team Blog
MAVEN in the News
Events
Media Contacts