Posts tagged MAVEN

MAVEN spacecraft observes unexpected aurora and dust cloud

NASA reports that its Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft detected some unexpected auroral activity above the red planet for several days leading up to Christmas last year.  The spacecraft, using its Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS), observed a bright ultraviolet glow spanning Mar’s northern hemisphere.  Observations from the spacecraft’s Solar Energetic Particle instrument points to the Sun as the source for an energetic burst of electrons detected at the beginning of the aurora. MAVEN’s Langmuir Probe and Waves […]