On March 18, 2024, scientists observed a green aurora on Mars, thanks to data from the Perseverance rover. This phenomenon was caused by a strong solar eruption and marked the first time an aurora has been visually captured from a planet other than Earth. The rover provided imagery showing a yellow-green glow against the Martian landscape in Jezero Crater. While the aurora's intensity was less than Earth's, the findings pave the way for new research opportunities in Martian magnetospheric and atmospheric studies.
"I've had this image in my mind for two years of a black horizon, like a mountain ridge, and then the glowing green sky behind it and that's exactly what [the rover] saw."
"It's fun to imagine that we could possibly see it, but also, it opens this new avenue for doing magnetospheric, atmospherics, and space weather research on Mars."
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