Q: What’s big, red and pulses UV light into the cosmos three times a night? A: Mars
- Reference: 1596783189
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/08/07/mars_nightglow/
- Source link:
Detailed in a new paper titled [1]Imaging of Martian Circulation Patterns and Atmospheric Tides Through MAVEN/IUVS Nightglow Observations , the paper explains that during Martian Spring and Autumn vertical winds carry gases from high in the Martian atmosphere to regions of higher density and to the nightside of the planet. That movement brings together nitrogen and oxygen atoms which, when they combine into a nitric oxide (NO) molecule, spit out an ultraviolet photon.
Enough of those photons are emitted, and in a short enough time, that the MAVEN Mars orbiter has been able to perceive three distinct flashes each night using its Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) instrument.
The three incidents take place just after sunset, and the first is the brightest.
[2]
Martian "nightglow". Click to enlarge
Source: NASA/MAVEN/Goddard Space Flight Center/CU/LASP
NASA’s [3]take on the research is: “The pulsations reveal the importance of planet-encircling waves in the Mars atmosphere. The number of waves and their speed indicates that Mars’ middle atmosphere is influenced by the daily pattern of solar heating and disturbances from the topography of Mars’ huge volcanic mountains. These pulsating spots are the clearest evidence that the middle atmosphere waves match those known to dominate the layers above and below.”
NASA and the LASP boffins now plan to look at the phenomenon from side-on, to get a different perspective on Martian weather and further enhance our understanding of the red planet. ®
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[1] https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2019JA027318
[2] https://regmedia.co.uk/2020/08/07/mars_nightglow_nasa_press_release_maven_goddard_space_flight_center_cu_lasp.jpg
[3] https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/goddard/2020/mars-nightglow
[4] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: The Chances Of Anything Coming From Mars Are A Million To One He Said
Genius. *checks calendar* Uh oh. Just when I thought 2020 couldn't get even worse ....
Re: The Chances Of Anything Coming From Mars Are A Million To One He Said
A real missed opportunity there, they should have delayed the press release and used it as a hook :-)
Re: The Chances Of Anything Coming From Mars Are A Million To One He Said
"2020 couldn't get even worse"
A mighty space it was, and scattered about it, in their overturned machines, were the Martians - dead... slain, after all man's devices had failed, by the humblest things upon the Earth. Coronaviruses. Minute, invisible coronaviruses! Directly the Invaders arrived and drank and fed in an Aberdeen pub, our microscopic allies attacked them. From that moment - they were doomed!
p.s. Sadly, "The chance that extraterrestrial bacteria would be deadly to humans is zero. Not just very, very small. Zero."
https://www.forbes.com/sites/quora/2017/06/16/would-extraterrestrial-bacteria-be-dangerous-to-humans/
The Universe is a strange place. Even our little corner of it.
Marse code
I think it is a warning in Marse Code.
They are probably trying to tell us to get the fuck off and stop littering their planet.
O.
PD: it is Friday, no?
The Chances Of Anything Coming From Mars Are A Million To One He Said
At midnight, on the 12th of August, a huge mass of luminous gas erupted from Mars and sped towards Earth. ...
A flare, spurting out from Mars. Bright green, drawing a green mist behind it; a beautiful, but somehow disturbing sight. Ogilvy, the astronomer, assured me we were in no danger.