MAVEN (IMAGE)

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

MAVEN

Caption

The intense solar activity also sparked global aurora on Mars more than 25 times brighter than any previously seen by NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution, or MAVEN, mission. MAVEN studies the Martian atmosphere's interaction with the solar wind, the constant flow of charged particles from the Sun. These images from MAVEN's Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph show the appearance of bright aurora on Mars during the September solar storm. The purple-white colors show the intensity of ultraviolet light on Mars' night side before (left) and during (right) the event.

Credit

Credit: NASA/GSFC/Univ. of Colorado/LASP

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