Huge dots of ultraviolet light pulsing exactly three times each night were observed in 2020. The observations were made by NASA's Mars Atmosphere and
Huge dots of ultraviolet light pulsing exactly three times each night were observed in 2020. The observations were made by NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) probe orbiting Mars.
The probe observed the pulsating glow on the night side of Mars at an altitude of about 70 km, with the brightest spot measuring about 1,000 km wide.
In these false-color images, the green and white areas represent the intensity of ultraviolet light, while the global shot of Mars has been digitally added. But it is the light that is most intriguing. MAVEN’s data revealed that ultraviolet (UV) light occurs only during the Martian spring and fall and pulses exactly three times each night. It starts just after sunset and ends at midnight.
Source: Passioneastronomia.it
Traduzione in inglese a cura di Monica Origgi, Tiziana Origgi e Barbara Conforti
