2024-06-12 18:47:00
An intense photo voltaic storm in mid-Might induced the northern lights to seem on Earth. On one other planet in our photo voltaic system, the expertise failed.
In the midst of final month, the results of a extreme photo voltaic storm reached the earth. In lots of components of Germany and the world, spectacular northern lights appeared within the evening sky. The explanation: Our solar is at present in an lively part of a cycle.
Whereas this led to pure spectacles such because the Northern Lights right here in Might, the photo voltaic particles additionally reached our neighboring planet Mars. And there, the particles induced unprecedented scientific discoveries and a technical failure, based on NASA.
As a result of Mars doesn’t have a magnetic defend like Earth, the solar’s X-rays and gamma rays hit the planet’s floor all over the place and unfiltered.
If astronauts had been standing subsequent to the Mars rover “Curiosity” at the moment, they’d have obtained a radiation dose equal to about 30 chest X-rays in the course of the strongest photo voltaic storm on Might 20, NASA mentioned.
That is the strongest radiation dose ever measured with the devices of the Mars car “Curiosity”. And the rover has been on the planet for 12 years.
In the course of the Might 20 occasion, a lot photo voltaic power hit the Martian floor that white streaks and spots appeared on the black-and-white photos taken by the rover’s navigation cameras.
Likewise, the digicam that the 2001 Mars Odyssey orbiter makes use of for orientation was flooded with photo voltaic particles and briefly stopped working. Regardless of the roughly one-hour outage, the probe, which flies round Mars, continued to gather essential knowledge on X-rays, gamma rays and charged particles.
Regardless of technical failure and excessive radiation publicity, northern lights additionally occurred on Mars, as noticed by the NASA probe “Maven” (Mars Environment and Unstable Evolution).
In response to NASA, the northern lights on the Crimson Planet are very totally different from these seen on Earth. Whereas our magnetic subject signifies that northern lights are primarily seen in areas close to the poles, on Mars they envelop the whole planet.
A photo voltaic cycle is an roughly 11-year cycle wherein photo voltaic exercise varies, as measured by the variety of sunspots. The cycle contains intervals of excessive and low exercise that have an effect on area climate and might affect Earth, comparable to geomagnetic storms and modifications within the Solar’s magnetic subject.