Header Ads

Even Without A Magnetosphere, Mars Can Still Deflect Some Solar Wind

June 04, 2026
Even Without A Magnetosphere, Mars Can Still Deflect Some Solar Wind
By Evan Gough (https://ift.tt/yEqj3lg)

MAVEN reached Mars in September 2014 and began its scheduled one-year mission to study the planet's atmosphere. It lasted 11 years, and in 2023 it witnessed a coronal mass ejection strike Mars' atmosphere. Because of that serendipitious observation, scientists saw how the unmagnetized planet was still able to deflect some of the solar wind. Image Credit: NASA/Goddard/University of Colorado/Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

New research shows how unmagnetized worlds like Mars can still deflect some of the Sun's solar wind. Unlike magnetospheres that form around planet's like Earth, this effect takes place in Mars' ionosphere. It's called the Zwan-Wolf effect, and it's not clear how deep into the atmosphere it operates.



June 5, 2026 at 01:39AM
via read more...

Post a Comment

No comments

Subscribe to: Post Comments ( Atom )
Powered by Blogger.