by Mars might be the Red Planet, but its atmosphere glows green.
Using the European Space Agency's (ESA) ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), scientists have observed Mars' atmosphere glowing green for the first time ever — in the visible light spectrum, that is.
The effect is called airglow (or dayglow or nightglow, depending on the hour), and it occurs on Earth, too.
While it shares some similarities with the northern lights (or aurora) here on our planet, it's a different phenomenon with different causes.
Nightglow, in particular, "occurs when two oxygen atoms combine to form an oxygen molecule," according to ESA.
On Mars, this happens at an altitude of approximately 31 miles (50 km).
By comparison, auroras occur when charged particles from the sun collide with Earth's magnetic field.
Source
Using the European Space Agency's (ESA) ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO), scientists have observed Mars' atmosphere glowing green for the first time ever — in the visible light spectrum, that is.
The effect is called airglow (or dayglow or nightglow, depending on the hour), and it occurs on Earth, too.
While it shares some similarities with the northern lights (or aurora) here on our planet, it's a different phenomenon with different causes.
Nightglow, in particular, "occurs when two oxygen atoms combine to form an oxygen molecule," according to ESA.
On Mars, this happens at an altitude of approximately 31 miles (50 km).
By comparison, auroras occur when charged particles from the sun collide with Earth's magnetic field.
Source
