Scientists have managed to explain the auroras on Mars

The aurora borealis is considered one of the most beautiful natural phenomena on Earth, but it is observed not only on our planet. Scientists have found them on Mercury, some moons of Jupiter, and even on a comet. But even with that in mind, seeing an aurora on Mars was a surprise.

For years, scientists have tried to figure out how this is possible: the Red Planet does not have a global magnetic field that plays a key role in the formation of auroras on Earth: a bright effect is obtained precisely when the solar wind collides with the magnetic field. However, now researchers succeeded solve this riddle.

To do this, they analyzed more than 200 aurora events on Mars. Data received from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) spacecraft. It was launched in 2013 and has been used on several missions since arriving on the Red Planet.

Researchers have found that auroras on Mars most often occur in the southern hemisphere of the planet. They believe that small pockets of the magnetic field that once had the entire planet, but fell apart at the beginning of its life, have been preserved in these regions. Assumptions about these centers were put forward earlier, but they were not associated with the aurora.

Thus, due to the remnants of the magnetic field, with good luck, including the direction of the solar wind, the aurora appears in these regions of Mars.