They cause Martian auroras
NASA missions managed to record the arrival of X and gamma rays from a series of solar flares and coronal mass ejections, which even caused Martian auroras.
The largest event occurred on May 20 with a solar flare later estimated to be an X12 (X-class solar flares are the strongest of several types), based on data from the Solar Orbiter spacecraft, a joint mission between ESA (European Space Agency) and NASA.
The eruption sent X-rays and gamma rays toward the Red Planet, while a subsequent coronal mass ejection launched charged particles. The flare’s X-rays and gamma rays, traveling at the speed of light, arrived first.
Analysts at the Moon-Mars Space Weather Analysis Office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center closely monitored the development of space weather, which warned of the possibility of charged particles arriving after the mass ejection. coronal.
LIKE 30 CHEST X-RAYS
If the astronauts had been standing next to NASA’s Curiosity rover on Mars at that time, they would have received a radiation dose of 8,100 micrograys, equivalent to 30 chest X-rays. While not fatal, it was the largest surge measured by Curiosity’s Radiation Assessment Detector (RAD) since the rover landed 12 years ago.
The RAD data will help scientists plan for the highest level of radiation exposure that could be encountered by astronauts, who could use the Martian landscape for protection.
During the May 20 event, so much energy from the storm hit the surface that the black-and-white images from Curiosity’s navigation cameras danced with “snow” — white streaks and specks caused by charged particles hitting the cameras.
Similarly, the star chamber that NASA’s Mars Odyssey 2001 orbiter uses for guidance was flooded with solar particle energy, momentarily shutting down. (Odyssey has other ways to orient itself and recovered the camera within an hour.) Even with the brief lapse in its star chamber, the orbiter collected vital data on X-rays, gamma rays and charged particles using its High Energy Neutron Detector.
This was not Odyssey’s first encounter with a solar flare: in 2003, solar particles from a solar flare eventually estimated to be an X45 burned out Odyssey’s radiation detector, which was designed to measure such events.
High above Curiosity, NASA’s Maven (Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN) orbiter captured another effect of recent solar activity: bright auroras over the planet. The way these auroras occur is different from those seen on Earth.
Our home planet is protected from charged particles by a robust magnetic field, which normally limits auroras to regions near the poles. Mars lost its internally generated magnetic field in the ancient past, so there is no protection against energetic particle bombardment. When charged particles hit the Martian atmosphere, auroras are produced that envelop the entire planet. (Europa Press)
During solar events, the Sun releases a wide range of energetic particles. Only the most energetic ones can reach the surface to be measured by RAD. The slightly less solar-energized particles screamed past, meticulously analyzing how the event evolved.XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
CAPTION: A ROBUST MAGNETIC FIELD PROTECTS CHARGED PARTICLES.
PHOTO: www.ambito.com
