Mars, known as the Red Planet, can sometimes dazzle with shimmering green auroras. These light shows happen when solar storms send charged particles toward the planet, and now, scientists believe they can start predicting when these events will occur.
This ability to forecast auroras could be crucial for future astronauts, giving them a heads-up to take cover from harmful radiation released during solar storms.
Auroras occur when solar particles collide with a planet’s atmosphere. On Earth, our magnetic field channels these particles to the poles, creating the beautiful northern and southern lights. Mars, however, lost its magnetic field long ago, which changed it from a wetter world to the dry one we see today. Without this protective shield, auroras can light up the entire night sky, thanks to oxygen atoms reacting high above the surface.
In March 2024, NASA’s Perseverance rover made history by capturing Mars’s first visible-light aurora. This marked a significant milestone in studying the planet’s atmosphere. Recently, at a conference in Helsinki, scientist Elise Knutsen shared news about a second aurora detection and introduced new tools to help predict these events.
Knutsen remarked, “This shows that our method for predicting auroras on Mars works.” This prediction technique is still in its early days compared to Earth, where decades of data help in forecasting auroras. The team programmed Perseverance’s cameras to track the sky after solar eruptions, known as coronal mass ejections (CMEs). These massive bursts release billions of tons of charged particles, increasing the chances of an aurora.
However, scheduling these rover observations can be tricky. Scientists need to send commands to Mars about three days in advance, leading them to make educated guesses about which storms might trigger an aurora.
From 2023 to 2024, the team tried eight times to capture auroras. Their initial attempts weren’t successful as the CMEs lacked intensity. Eventually, by focusing on stronger storms, they managed to record two stunning auroras. Knutsen pointed out that not every strong CME leads to a display. Sometimes, it all comes down to luck, similar to how predicting earthbound auroras can be unpredictable.
As we proceed into the future, the ongoing research into Martian auroras may provide further insights into the planet’s conditions. With advancements in technology and data analysis, the hope is to refine prediction methods and enhance our understanding of both Mars and the broader cosmos.
For more detailed insights into auroras, you can check out [NASA’s official website](https://www.nasa.gov). Understanding these remarkable phenomena not only enriches our knowledge of Mars but also highlights how interlinked our understanding of celestial events is across different planets.
